Miracles Can Happen
by HurogWalker
Summary: Samuel Cornick finds a teenage Walker on the street hitchhiking and he picks her up. She has no idea that he is a werewolf. Rated M to be safe for chapter 17. Maybe later too, not sure yet. What will happen when the vampires come to play?... R
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic so any and all criticism and/or comments are welcome as are reviews.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it then it's not mine.

* * *

Dr. Samuel Cornick slowed his car as he went around a corner. He wasn't sure why but he felt somewhat restless. He was on his way back to the Tri-Cities from visiting his father, the Marrok, in Montana.

Rounding the bend, he noticed a young woman walking along the side of the road in the hot afternoon sun. She turned as she heard the car behind her and waved her arms at him. He pulled to the side of the road and stopped next to her, rolling down the window on the passenger side.

"Can I help you with something miss?" He asked her. She smiled winningly at him.

"Could you give me a ride?" Samuel considered for a moment.

"Where are you going?" The girl hesitated then shrugged.

"I'm not really sure. Maybe Washington State?" She said naming the State on his license plates. Samuel smiled.

"I'm on my way to the Tri-Cities in Washington." He flipped the unlock button on the doors. "I'll give you a ride all the way there if you want." He offered. She smiled.

"Thanks." She said as she opened the door and set her bag inside, climbing in behind it. Samuel drew in a sharp breath and his Wolf woke instantly as he caught her scent. Was it possible? Were there really other Walkers? She certainly smelled like one.

She closed the door and turned to him.

"Do you have any water?" He reached into the backseat and grabbed one of the water bottles he always kept there.

Her eyes widened as she caught his scent. She had never smelled anything like him before. He smelled fresh and clean, of mountains and the forest. Wild. Un-tamable. She shifted closer to the door. She was young and had never really gotten out much but somehow she didn't think that many people smelled this... good.

He handed her the water and she took it gratefully.

"Thank you so much." She said, taking the lid off of the bottle. Bringing it to her lips she drank about half of the water quickly. She put the cap back on with a small sigh. She blinked and held out her hand to Samuel.

"I'm Kai by the way."

Samuel shook her hand with a friendly smile.

"Samuel."

"It's nice to meet you Samuel." Sam took his foot off the brake pedal and drove off down the road again.

She smelled soft and warm. She looked like she was pretty young, maybe 17. Her scent was a blend of things, most of which he couldn't identify. Aloe. There was a hint of aloe. It wasn't usually a smell he liked but it was good on her.

After a few miles of silence he decided to try to break the ice a little.

"So how old are you Kai?" She looked over at him, startled.

"I'm nineteen." She was lying. It had been a good lie; a human wouldn't have caught it. He looked over at her.

"Why are you hitchhiking? Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's dangerous? I could be an ax murderer or a serial killer or something." He caught a faint scent of sadness when he mentioned her mother, but she hid it quickly.

"Well I don't have a car and grand theft auto seemed a little too risky so I decided to take my chances with the ax murderers and serial killers. Besides, when you pulled up you didn't seem like the type for that." Samuel smiled slightly.

"First impressions can be deceiving." She narrowed her eyes.

"Are you trying to tell me something? You _can_ let me off anywhere you know. You don't have to take me all the way to the Tri-Cities just because you offered. You can change your mind if you want to."

"Do you want me to let you off somewhere between here and there?"

"No I'm cool. But if you don't want to take me you don't have to."

"Why wouldn't I want to?"

"Oh I don't know. You can never tell but I might be an ax murderer."

"You seem a little young for that."

She snorted. "What and you don't? What does age have to do with it anyway? If you're crazy you're crazy. There's no law that says you have to be a certain age before you can become an ax murderer."

Samuel laughed. She was definitely a strange little coyote. He looked over at her to find her watching him. She met his eyes without fear or hesitation. She didn't look away and his Wolf growled at her insubordinate.

He looked over at her and met her eyes. She gazed back at him, studying his face. He was good looking, not the type of guy that women drooled over as he passed on the street perhaps, but definitely good looking. His eyes were perhaps the most striking thing about his face. They were pale gray-blue with a ring of dark blue around the iris and they seemed to hold something mysterious in them. Something wild, like his scent. She realized that she was taking deep breaths, savoring the smell of him and stopped.

She glanced away, glad that he hadn't noticed. She looked toward the road and saw, to her horror, that they were on the wrong side of the road and there was a semi-truck coming. The driver of the oncoming truck was reaching for something on the seat next to him and Samuel hadn't noticed it yet. She grabbed the wheel and jerked them back to the right side of the road.

Samuel looked at the road just as she reached over. He cursed himself for not paying attention to the road. He had almost gotten her killed. He would have survived the collision but she probably wouldn't have.

"Thanks. Sorry."

She was breathing heavily. She swallowed hard and started to relax a little again.

"It's okay. That's why I don't really drive very often. Too much you can't control." Samuel had to struggle not to say that he could have prevented that, that he should have been paying attention. She looked at him as though she could hear what he was thinking and repeated quietly,

"Its okay."

They continued on in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally Kai couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Do you live in the Tri-Cities?" She asked Samuel, hoping that she wasn't disturbing him. He smiled slightly. He had been expecting her to say something soon. He had been keeping track of the steady discomfort that her scent reveled to him.

"Yes, I live with a friend of mine. I'm a doctor in the Kennewick Hospital." She nodded.

"What do you do?"

"I'm in the ER." She nodded again.

"See? I knew you weren't an ax murderer. Must be a tough job though. All the people that go through the ER every day. You can't always help everyone either." She looked somberly out the window, lost in her memories. Then she brightened.

"But you save people's lives sometimes too."

Samuel nodded, wondering what her life had been like to give her such a quirky personality. She was so young and yet seemed to understand so much. Or maybe it was just the coyote in her.

"Where are you from?"

"I've lived in Arizona most of my life." _Lie._

"Arizona's nice."

Kai's nose wrinkled. "It's too hot. That's why I left." That last bit was a lie too. Samuel took a deep breath, trying not to imagine the worst possible thing that could have happened to this child.

"Where did you grow up?" Kai asked curiously.

"Montana." _Wow. This guy's good. I could barely smell that lie... okay lets try another..._

"How old are you?" Samuel glanced at her.

"You do know that it's no polite to ask adults that right?"

"You asked me. And you're not _that_ much older then me." She responded, one eyebrow quirked.

"I'm twenty-five." Again she could barely smell it but it was a lie. Her eyes narrowed. He only looked like he was twenty-five. She looked at him suspiciously.

His Wolf disapproved of the fact that she would look at him with such mistrust in her eyes. He wanted to find the people who had hurt her. She was HIS. _Damn it. Already?_ Samuel closed his eyes for a moment. He wasn't sure what to make of the fact that his wolf had already claimed her as his. He liked her but she was so young. He didn't believe that she was nineteen. He sighed.

Kai bit her lip. He didn't look very happy. Had she offended him somehow? Maybe she would leave the man in peace tonight. She could find someone else to take her to Washington. Samuel had already been very nice. She didn't want to inconvenience him.

He cursed himself as he felt her withdraw from him. He glanced at the clock in the dash. It was already 6:30. Luckily they were coming up to a town. When they got to the town Samuel pulled into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. He parked the car close to the door and got out, stretching after a long day in the car.

"I'll buy you dinner." He told Kai with a smile.

"I can pay for my own dinner thank you though." His smile faded a little under her cold response. He shrugged.

"Have it your way." She smirked and glanced meaningfully towards the restaurant. He ducked his head a little when he saw that the slogan for the chain was 'Have it your way.'

"That was completely unintentional." She continued to smirk as she sauntered towards the door.

"Whatever you say."

He somehow managed not to let his arm slid around her waist as he passed her. He opened the door and held it for her. She hesitated briefly and he wondered if she was debating whether or not she trusted him at her back. She walked through the door, thanking him politely.

She ordered her food and chose a table. She sat down and began to eat her two burgers and her small fry. Samuel sat down opposite her with his food. She looked up and found him watching her. She continued eating, keeping her eyes on his.

His Wolf growled. She was HIS and she would submit to him. Their eyes stayed lock for several minutes before she looked away. It was a hollow victory though. He suspected that she had gotten bored. He looked down at her tray. She had almost eaten all of her food. She hadn't ordered that much, only two burgers and a small fry and a cup of water. He had gotten about twice that much. No wonder she was so thin.

He studied the way she was eating too. She looked like she was hungry but trying to pretend that she wasn't. He resolved to get her to eat more.

After they were both done he asked,

"Did you get enough to eat?" She looked him in the eye again.

"Yes. I'm fine thank you." He frowned. With that wording it shouldn't have been a lie. He rose and went up to the counter and ordered four ice cream sundae things. He brought two to her and sat down again with his two. She gave him a questioning look.

"They're small." He explained.

"I said I was fine."

"And I think you were lying. Eat." She glared at him.

"Now." she stuck out her tongue at him in a show of immaturity but picked up her spoon.

Samuel smiled, glad that she didn't act older then she was all the time.

After they had finished Samuel moved to gather up her trash and take it to the can along with his. She batted his hands away.

"I'm not sure what you think is going on but I'm just hitching a ride. Sorry." He sighed as she met his eyes again. She had absolutely no clue who and what he was. He allowed her to take care of her own trash.

He held the door for her again as they exited the fast food place. Samuel beeped the unlock button on his key fob, heading towards his car. Her footsteps faltered then veered off, away from him. He turned. She was walking down the sidewalk in the opposite direction from his car.

"Kai?" Samuel asked quietly, knowing full well that she could hear him just fine. The only response she gave was to duck her head and walk a little faster. He sighed and locked his car back up.

Kai walked even faster as she heard Samuel's footsteps coming after her. Why couldn't he just let her be? She could find another ride. He already knew too much about her. It was a shame though that she had to leave. He had interesting eyes. And his scent still puzzled her. She sighed. Maybe she would walk to Washington after all. The prospect of having to make small talk with another person was too troublesome. Damn it he was catching up.

"Kai." He said again. Gently. Sweetly. Like he cared. She couldn't remember when the last time was someone had said her name that way. She felt a tear run down her cheek. She stopped, allowing Samuel to catch up to her. She bit her lip as he stepped in front of her, feeling her eyes well up. She looked down at the ground, letting her hair fall over her face.

Samuel put his arms around the crying girl, stroking her hair and doing his best to comfort her.

"Shh. It'll be okay."

After she had pulled herself together she took a small step back. Samuel let her go, releasing her from his arms. Kai turned away, wiping the tears off her face. After taking several deep breaths of Samuel scented air she managed to stop quivering. She turned back to Samuel.

"Thank you." She whispered, still not looking at the man in front of her.

"Come on." He said gently. Taking her hand in his, he led her towards his car. She followed him without protest.

He opened the passenger side door for her and waited for her to get in, closing it gently behind her. Kai wasn't quite sure still what had caused her breakdown but she was grateful that Samuel had been as kind as he had been. Maybe she would stay with him until they got to Washington after all.

He got into the car and started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot. He stopped at a hotel and looked over at her.

"Want to wait in the car?" Kai nodded and he smiled reassuringly.

"I'll be right back."

She waited there for a few minutes before it dawned on her that he was getting a room for the night. She couldn't afford a room and she wasn't going to share a bed with a strange man. It didn't matter how nice he had been he could still turn out to be a serial killer. She smiled. She liked Samuel. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his scent. There was something different about him. Something she had never encountered before. The car door opened, startling her out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes to see four tough, mean looking men standing around the car.

"Get out." They ordered her. She obeyed, pulling a lighter out of one of her pockets as she did.

"What are you going to do with that girlie?" One of the men asked her. Another of the men pulled a key out of his pocket and started to drag it down the side of the car.

"I'm just getting a smoke man. Chill. Want one?" She asked, slurring her words a little.

"Yeah I'll take one." She reached into a pocket and withdrew a handful of flour and sawdust. She threw it into the air around the closest man's face and quickly lit her lighter. She took a step back as the powder erupted in flame. It only lasted for a second but it caught the mans hair on fire. One of the other men grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides.

She heard a furious growl behind her and a sickening crunch. The man holding her fell to the ground, clutching at his broken bones. She quickly looked around, taking stock of the situation. All four men were on the ground and Samuel was at her elbow, asking if she was alright. She blinked. It had all happened so fast.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Thanks." A few of the hotel staff came out and surveyed the scene.

"Sorry about this. They've been causing trouble for months now. I'm glad they finally messed with the wrong people. The police are on their way. It shouldn't take long." One of the hotel people told them. Samuel thanked her.

Kai turned to Samuel. "Sam? That wasn't... You... How..."

Samuel sighed and put an arm around her shoulders.

"I'll explain later. I've booked a room with two beds. Are you okay sharing a room?" Kai hesitated then nodded. The cops pulled into the parking lot.

* * *

Kai sighed with frustration. He made her feel so young again. Like a lost puppy, all she could do was follow him around. Somehow he had managed to get her bag away from her and was now carrying her bag and his bag down the hallway to their room. He opened the door and motioned for her to go first. She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her tongue.

Now it was Samuel's turn to sigh with exasperation. He went into the room first, setting his bag on the bed closest to the door. He put hers on the other bed and sat down, motioning for her to sit on the opposite bed.

"So."

"So so." Samuel glared at Kai.

"Sorry."

"You've probably already guessed that I'm not normal." Kai nodded.

"But you're not normal either are you." It was a rhetorical question so she didn't bother answering.

"I'm a Werewolf."

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Please


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If you recognize it then it's not mine.

A big thank you to both of the people that have reviewed my story so far! You guys are awesome. Again, this has been revised so if it's bee awhile since you read it, it's probably changed. Sorry.

Thank you Mrs. Briggs for all the wonderful books.

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Her eyes widened slightly -which he noticed because she was staring into his eyes again...- She took a deep breath, re-evaluating his scent. That made sense, his being a Werewolf. Suddenly she realized that she was staring him in the eye. She dropped her eyes quickly; flushing as she realized that she had been doing that all evening. She had been challenging him. _Oops._

Samuel snorted slightly as she quickly dropped her eyes. He watched her thinking. She bit her lower lip and looked up. She met his eyes then remembered that she wasn't supposed to.

"I've never met a Werewolf before."

"Obviously." She glared at his chin. He smiled.

"So... You know?" She said, hesitating.

"That you're a coyote? Yes. I know." Kai looked down again and nodded.

After a moment she looked up at him again.

"Will you show me? I'll show you mine." She asked, her eyes uncertain, but hopeful. He smiled again.

"Do you want to change in here or in the bathroom?"

She bit her lip again. It presented him with the urge to bit it for her. After all, if she was going to chew her lip the least he could do was help… He pushed the urge back.

"I don't know. How long does it take you?"

Samuel sighed. "It takes Werewolves a little while. Our Shifts aren't a easy as Walker Shifting."

"Walker?"

Samuel nodded. "That's what your kind is called."

"So there are others?" The hope in her eyes was almost painful.

"Yes there is at least one other Walker. I live with her. Her name is Mercedes Thompson."

Kai's eyes were eager and she forgot not to look him in the eye again as she asked,

"Can you take me to meet her?" She was almost bouncing up and down with excitement.

"How old are you really?"

Kai blinked then hung her head.

"Sixteen." She wasn't lying this time.

"I can Shift in here." Kai offered, bringing Samuel back to the beginning of their discussion.

"Okay. I'll go start then." Samuel said as he got to his feet and walked toward the bathroom.

Kai waited until the door to the bathroom was almost closed and she could hear him removing his clothes before she started to take hers off. She quickly disrobed and Shifted into coyote form. She walked over and sat in front of the bathroom door, listing intently to the sounds inside. It sounded like it hurt. Ow. Yeah, that had to hurt.

Several minutes later Samuel emerged from the bathroom as a wolf. He was beautiful. He was huge. Suddenly she felt very small and domesticated. She hadn't been prepared for him to look, and smell, so wild. His fur was snow white but his eyes were what drew her attention the most. They were remarkable similar to when he was a human, pale blue with a ring of onyx around his irises. She could feel the dominance radiating from him. It had been there when he was human too but it had been much easier to ignore. She fought the urge to crawl over to him on her belly. She submitted to no one.

Samuel studied Kai. She was a little smaller then Mercy but she might still grow a little. Her fur was a light red-brown, the tips of her ears and the tip of her tail were a little darker then the rest of her and she had a splash of pure white on one front paw like she had stepped in a bucket of paint or something. Her eyes were an astounding gray-silver and she once again had forgotten not to stare at him. She really was going to get herself killed doing that to some more sensitive wolf. He had to suppress a growl at the thought of her getting hurt.

Suddenly, she play bowed and gave him a puppyish grin. He smiled back and they played together for a while until they were both tired. Kai got up first and walked into the bathroom, nudging the door closed with her muzzle. Samuel grinned and walked over to where her clothes were, wondering when she would remember that she had left them out here.

Kai Shifted and looked around for her clothes. She smacked her forehead as she remembered that she had left them out in the room. Samuel whined at the door and she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself before opening the door. He wagged his tail and set her clothes down on the floor, backing back out of the room again.

"Thank you." She said as she closed the door. She quickly tugged on her clothes. He had forgotten her shirt. She sighed. Well she wasn't going to Change again tonight and wrapping a towel around herself didn't really work when she was wearing a bra. She sighed again and pulled Samuel's shirt on. It was his own fault.

He wagged his tail as she came out, picking up a small bundle from the floor he went into the other room and nudged the door closed behind himself. He Phased back to human and smiled. He was glad it had worked. Now she smelled like him too. He quickly got dressed. He had brought another shirt in with him, guessing that she would wear his. Damn it she was only sixteen.

He opened the door and found her already in her bed, curled up on her side. She looked up at him.

"How bad does it hurt?" She asked him quietly.

"It's not so bad. You get used to it after a while." She hesitated then asked,

"Samuel? How old are you?" He sighed.

"I'm old."

"Mmm."

He slid into his bed and reached for the light.

"Sam? What time do you want to leave in the morning?"

"I don't know. It doesn't really matter." He turned off the light and everything was silent for a few minutes.

"Goodnight Samuel." He chuckled softly.

"Goodnight Kai. Sleep well."

* * *

Kai yawned and stretched. Opening her eyes she experienced a moment of panic then she recognized the hotel room. She sighed and rolled out of bed, heading for the bathroom.

She paused. Turning, she went back to her bed and grabbed her bag from where she had tossed it the previous night. She walked back to the bathroom.

Samuel sighed and looked at the clock. It was 8 in the morning. He pulled one of the extra pillows over his face. He was a Werewolf and used to working the graveyard shift at the hospital. But he had found another Walker. He should probably get up and take her out to breakfast. Feed the skinny girl up a little. She looked like she had been living on rabbits. He frowned. Maybe she had. She hadn't seemed to be to troubled. But then, she had been hitchhiking, discussing the merits of being an ax murderer with a stranger, and that little stunt with the flour and the lighter had been rather original. He hoped that she was mentally stable. It was dangerous to live in wolf form to much and that probably was true for Walkers too.

She came out of the bathroom to find Samuel still lying there. She quietly put her bag down on her bed and went over and laid down on the bed next to him. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment then rolled over onto her side, watching Samuel instead. A spark of mischief crept into her eyes. She reached over and grabbed the pillow, trying to pull it off his face. Samuel kept a firm grip on the pillow, using it to hide his smile. It had been to long since he had played around much. This girl was already doing wonders for him.

Kai continued to tug on the pillow for a few minutes but when he didn't really play along she got bored and let go. She flopped back down on the queen-sized bed with a sigh. She smirked with sudden inspiration.

Samuel heard a rustle of fabric and felt her moving around a bit. She stopped moving and after a few minutes he took the pillow off of his face to see why she was so still. He smiled as he saw his young charge. She was lying in the same position as he was with a pillow over her head. He chuckled as she peeped out at him from under the pillow. He got up and got a few things out of his bag, heading into the bathroom.

Kai smiled, glad that he found her funny. He had seemed a little too grown up for even a twenty-five year old. She frowned suddenly. _He probably_ is_ older then twenty-five... _Weres tended to live for quite a while. She sighed. He was probably really a grumpy old man. She grinned at the mental image that gave her. Maybe she should try not to be so annoying… It wasn't her fault that she was hyper in the mornings… or was it. She frowned again.

The bathroom door opened and Samuel came out. She smiled at him and got up off of his bed.

"Are you ready to go?" Samuel asked her.

"Yep. You?" Samuel nodded.

"Well. Shall we?"

"Sure."

They left the hotel, going out to Samuel's mercedes. They put their bags in the trunk and then got into the car.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Kai looked at him rather blankly.

"I don't usually eat breakfast…"

"It's my treat. Do you want to go to a nicer place or just grab something quick?"

"Umm… Just grab something?"

"Okay. Where do you want to go?"

"Umm… You're driving." Samuel sighed.

They ended up stopping at another fast food restaurant and Samuel ordered for both of them. He handed her food to her and got back on the highway, driving as he ate. After a few minutes of quiet Kai looked up at Samuel.

"Sam? Can you…" She hesitated, unsure. "Can you maybe drop me off at the edge of town? I think I'd like to get used to the city a little before I meet another Walker." Samuel studied her out of the corner of his eye. Finally he nodded.

"Alright. Mercy will want to meet you though. Where will you stay?"

"I can spend the nights as a coyote. It should only take me a few days to get used to the area a little. Then maybe I'll get a job and a place to stay." Samuel hesitated for a moment then said,

"I've been thinking about getting my own place before Mercy decides to kick me out. If you want you can live with me after I get a place." He offered. Kai looked considering at him.

"This is a very strange relationship we have. We only met yesterday afternoon and you've already invited me to live with you." She grinned. "I'll consider your offer, thank you Sam." She paused for a moment. "What sort of music do you like?" She asked, eyeing the fancy sound system in the dash. Samuel shrugged.

"I personally like Celtic music and such but whatever you want to listen to is fine." She smiled over at him.

"Thanks." She fished an Ipod out of her pocket and connected it to the built in dock on the dash. She flicked it on and adjusted the settings on his stereo system, mainly the bass. Samuel fought the urge to wince as she turned on some sort of rap song. Definitely not his usual. She pulled a face.

"I don't even know why I keep that on here…" She muttered to herself. She turned it to a song in a foreign language that he recognized as an old Greek song that someone had redone.

"What's this called?"

"It's Ta Mavra Matia Sou. It's a remake by Panagiotis Rafailidis. Good album." Samuel nodded.

"You know it?" Kai asked, surprised.

"No, but I'm familiar with the song."

"Ah. Hey, what's your favorite color?" Samuel blinked.

"Umm… Blue. Yours?"

"Hmm… Green? But I like all… well… _almost_ all colors. Favorite food?"

"Not really. Anything with meat." Kai grinned.

"Me too. You have a favorite song?" Samuel considered for a few minutes then shook his head.

"Not specifically."

"I know. It's so hard to just pick one." Kai fell silent and stared out the window, loosing herself in her thoughts.

* * *

Samuel listened with interest to the music on her Ipod, looking quizzically at the girl from time to time.

* * *

Kai came back to reality slowly, subconsciously humming along with the song that was just ending. She blushed as she realized what song was playing. She skipped it forward to the next song but it was a mute point. Samuel shot her a look but she couldn't place the expression in his eyes. She blushed harder as she realized that somewhat inappropriate songs had been playing for quite some time. She refused to meet Samuel's eyes.

"I don't even know why I have that song on my Ipod still."

"Liar." Kai opened her mouth to say something then thought better of it. She sighed. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was already eleven.

"How much farther is it?" Samuel glanced at her, amused at her attempt to change the topic.

* * *

I've managed to concoct a loose list of what songs are on her Ipod. I'm giving absolutely no guarantee that the songs fit the rating for the story so don't blame me if you don't like them. I haven't arranged them in the order that her playlist is probably in yet but this is a start.

**Fake It - Seether**

**Bleed It Out - Linkin Park**

**Supermassive Black Hole - Muse **

**Paralyzer - Finger Eleven**

**Addicted - Saving Abel – this is the song that Kai switches ;) …**

**Snakecharmer - Brassnectar & Kraddy **

**Kiss Kiss - Tarkan **

**Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day**

**Another One Bites the Dust - Queen **

**Take Me Away - Lindsay Lohan **

**All I Ever Wanted (2-4 Grooves Radio Remix) - Basshunter **

**Circus - Britney Spears**

**Incomplete - Backstreet Boys**

**Womanizer - Britney Spears**

**Just Dance ft. Colby O'Donis - Lady Gaga**

**Bad Boy - Cascadia**

**Turn It Up - Chamillionaire/Lil Flip**

**Snap Yo Fingers (Part 2) - Lil Jon feat e-40 & Sean Paul**

**Break the Silence - Thousand Foot Krutch **

**Comatose - Skillet **

**The Last Night - Skillet **

**Whispers in the Dark - Skillet **

**Kuzu Kuzu - Tarkan **

**The Sound - Brassnectar & Kraddy **

**Just Like That - Tarkan**

**Touch - Tarkan**

**Mass Confusion - Tarkan**

**Dont Leave Me Alone - Tarkan**

**Come Closer - Tarkan**

**Bounce - Tarkan **

**Shhh - Tarkan**

**Start the Fire - Tarkan **

**La Bamba - Los Lobbos (or Richie Valens....) **

**Come On, Let's Go - Los Lobbos (or Richie Valens) **

**Ultimate - Lindsay Lohan **

**Love Is Gone - David Guetta**

**Boten Anna - Basshunter **

**Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas**

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	3. Chapter 3

Ok so I don't know if the site will send alerts to you awesome people who've added me to your alert lists and such but I've made some changes to all of the chapters. And this one is longer. I'll try to write more but I've been suffering from a little bit of writers block on this story. Sorry that it's taken me so long to write more. I really appreciate all of you wonderful people who've read and/or reviewed my story. ;)

If you recognize it, it probably still isn't mine… *gasp*

* * *

They stopped for lunch in the outskirts of Pasco. Samuel bought Kai lunch at the small, family owned dinner, despite her protests. She sighed.

"So. After lunch you'll drop me off somewhere so I can get used to the city right?" Samuel considered for a few moments.

"I'm not sure that the local alpha will appreciate you running around unescorted through his territory."

"You aren't an alpha?" Kai asked with surprise. Samuel chuckled. So perhaps she had felt something of his dominance after all.

"I'm a loner. The alpha and I have an agreement worked out. He lets me live with Mercy and I don't challenge him." Kai nodded.

"I know what borders look like I can stay out of their way." Samuel looked sharply at her.

"I thought you'd never smelled a werewolf before. How do you know what borders look like?" She didn't answer and his wolf growled.

"Can I get your address and phone number in case I need anything or I get lost?"

"Sure." Samuel got out a pen and wrote Mercy's address and his cell number on a paper napkin. He held it out to Kai and she smiled and reached for it. He moved it out of her reach.

"How do you know what borders smell and look like?" She looked at him in shock for a moment then she grinned.

"There _are_ other kinds of Were's besides just werewolves you know. They're more rare then the wolves perhaps but they're out there." Her smile faded as she remembered exactly how well she knew that. Samuel tensed, smelling the change in her emotions.

"What?" Kai sighed.

"It's nothing." Seeing his look she added, "Really. Its over now anyway." _I hope. They shouldn't have been able to track me over such a long distance so I should be fine. And if this alpha lets Samuel and Mercy stay in his territory maybe he'll help me too._

Samuel studied her as she pondered something. He sighed quietly to himself, wishing he knew what was troubling her. He nudged her plate a little closer to her, already halfway done with his meal.

"Do you want me to not tell Mercy about you?" Kai looked up at Samuel.

"I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't mind." Samuel nodded.

"It shouldn't be too hard. She never uses my car so she shouldn't smell you."

"Thank you." Kai said quietly, looking down, wondering why he was being so nice. She started eating, humming low under her breath at the heavenly taste of the food.

* * *

After lunch Samuel led Kai back out to his car. She was beginning to tire of being so dependant on someone else. The got into the car and he turned to her.

"Is there anything that you need? Clothing, food, money, transportation?"

"No I'm okay. Thank's though." She told him with a smile, mentally running through what she had.

Samuel sighed inwardly. This was promising to be a difficult few days coming up. He didn't doubt that he would worry about her until she was living with him, had been accepted by Adam and Mercy, and had settled in to life as his mate. Providing that she was willing to be his mate. Yes, definitely a difficult few days.

Samuel started the car and pulled out onto the road, heading towards Kennewick. It wasn't until they were crossing the Columbia River that something occurred to Samuel.

"Do you have a phone?" Kai looked over at Samuel blankly, still deep in her thoughts. She blinked a few times then said,

"Yeah I have a prepaid cell phone. I don't get any calls so I should still have plenty of minutes left." Samuel nodded.

"Alright. Can I get your number?" Kai smiled slightly.

"Yeah I'll get it for you when you drop me off somewhere. I never learned the number so…" Samuel considered for a moment then asked,

"Is there anywhere specific that you want me to drop you?" Kai shook her head.

"No. Not really. I've only been to the Tri-cities once so I'm not really familiar with anything. Anywhere's fine."

Samuel drove on awhile longer then he pulled off into a park.

"This is pretty near the alpha's border so be careful." He got out and opened the trunk for her. Kai dug her phone out and turned it on, flipping through the menu's to find the number. She pulled a slip of paper and a pen out of her bag and wrote the number on it, handing it to Samuel. He took it with a quick smile.

"Call me if you need anything okay?"

Kai nodded. "Okay. Thank you so much for everything Sam."

"It's my pleasure. I'll see you in a few days."

"Yep." She gave him a quick hug as he turned to get back in the car. He looked down at the girl in shock. He hugged he back before she could pull away. She gave him a quick squeeze and removed her arms. He released her as well, heaving a mental sigh. He got back into his car and started it again.

Kai was somewhat amazed that she had hugged the poor man. First she annoyed him and now she was giving him random hugs. She smirked. Some ax murderer she had turned out to be, huh. She moved out of his way so that he could leave, giving him a small wave as she did so.

Kai walked around through the park for a while, trying to decide what she needed to do first. She smacked her forehead lightly.

"Duh! I need to look like a pet before I go running around in people's backyards." She muttered to herself under her breath. She walked purposefully towards three other teenagers that were in the park, two of them were walking their dogs and they were joking around with each other.

"Hi. I'm looking for a pet store near here. Do you know if there are any?" The other teenagers conferred briefly amongst themselves. One of the two boys turned back to Kai with a smile.

"Yeah we were actually just on our way there ourselves. If you want we can show you where it is."

"Thanks. I'd like that." The other boy and the girl snickered.

"So uh… I'm Jake." The boy said sticking out his hand. Kai smiled, the lie coming to her tongue easily.

"I'm Kim. Nice to meet you Jake."

"Nice to meet you too Kim. Are you new here? I haven't seen you around before."

"Yeah I'm visiting some relatives. Looks like a nice area though. Might come back and go to school here."

"Yeah it is a nice area. I've lived here all my life and I still like it here. A lot of kids get tired of the same old place and want to move on but there's always something new here. You heard about the Werewolves going public right? Well, the main, top dog guy, whatever he's called, he lives around here. It's really cool. I go to school with his daughter and I've met a few of the wolves. They seem… Pretty normal actually." Kai nodded and smiled which was apparently all the fuel this talkative teenage boy needed to keep going. She found herself missing Samuel's easy company.

* * *

Samuel was relieved to see that Mercy was still at work when he got home. He locked up his car after retrieving his bag out of the trunk and went inside. He put all the clothes that smelled even faintly like her into the washer machine and turned it on, trusting it to remove her scent. He went into the bathroom and took a shower, washing all traces of the young Walker away.

* * *

After they got to the pet store Kai made her apologies to Jake and his friends and excused herself, going to the tag machine in the front of the store. Jake trotted after her.

"Hey. Can I get your pone number Kim?" Kai smiled at him.

"Sure." She proceeded to give him some poor, random person's phone number. She thought that perhaps she had heard it in a commercial…

Once Jake had gone back to hang out with his friends she turned back to the machine. She put her money in and made herself some tags. She put Samuel's address and phone number on them along with her name. _Just in case…I won't get picked up but I really do hate going to the pound. Better safe then sorry._ She told herself. _It has absolutely nothing to do with Samuel. Nothing at all._

She walked back to the dog section of the store and looked through the collars. Jake came around the corner of the isle and smiled when he saw her.

"I thought that maybe you'd left." He said as he stopped next to her. "You have a dog?" He asked with a hint of surprise.

"No, my aunt has one though. She asked me to stop by a pet store and pick up a new collar and tags for her. Her dog chewed up her old ones." Kai lied easily with a smile. Jake nodded sagely.

"Yeah dogs do that sometimes. What breed is she?"

"She's a mutt. We think that she's got some lab, maybe a little spaniel, and possibly a bit of coyote but we're really not sure."

"Shelter dog?"

"Yeah." Kai smiled. "My aunt wouldn't have it any other way. How about you? You have a dog?" Jake smiled with a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"Yeah… I have two. One's a Belgian Shepard. He's quite a handful… And to make things worse my other dog is a Border collie mix." Kai smirked.

"That sounds like trouble. How'd you come up with that combo?"

"I really don't know what I was thinking. I got Shadow, the Belgian, outside the shelter. His owner was elderly and had health issues and was moving to an assisted living home so he couldn't keep him. I talked him into selling Shadow to me instead of abandoning him. And I adopted Bree." Kai smiled at the talkative boy.

"That is such a sweet story about Shadow." Jake tilted his head so that he could see the tags.

"Kai? That's a cute name. Does it mean anything?"

"Yeah I think it means dog chasing deer or something." Kai picked out a nice leather flat buckle collar. Black of course. She picked up her bag and slipped the strap over one shoulder.

"I can carry that if you want." Jake offered.

"I've got it thanks though." Kai declined his offer gently. Suddenly she frowned and pulled her phone out of her pocket, checking the time.

"Oh. Wow, I've got to get going. It was really nice to meet you Jake." Kai said, smiling warmly at the boy. Jake smiled back.

"It was nice to meet you too Kim. Will I see you around?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe…" She said with another smile as she walked toward the front of the store to buy her collar.

She sighed with relief when she got out of the store without having to talk to Jake again. She wasn't used to talking that much in one day let alone in a few hours.

She walked back to the park quickly and found a place a little ways away that she could hide her stuff. She slipped into the thick bushes and put the collar on. She stepped quickly out of her clothes as soon as she was sure that there was no one around and stuffed them into her bag. She slid the bag a little deeper into the bushes and froze as she heard someone walk by a ways away. It was always uncomfortable to be naked in such strange places. She Sifted quickly and trotted out of the bushes. Scenting the air, she picked a direction and began to explore the area around the park. She could nose around farther tomorrow, for now she just needed to make sure that she would be safe sleeping here.

* * *

The past few days had passed uneventfully. She had spent her time in coyote form and had explored a lot of ground. She had even ventured into the Alpha's territory a little. She finished her rabbit and stretched. She was going to head outside the city limits and find somewhere that she could hide if she ever ran into trouble.

By noon she was in empty fields outside of town. Where could one hide in a field? She couldn't think of anywhere. Suddenly she heard a shot ring out. At the same time she felt a sharp stab of pain in her hind leg. She didn't stop to think or look around for the shooter, she ran. She followed the road for what seemed like hours, back toward town. It had probably been a hunter she reasoned. He had probably just mistaken her for a coyote. Which was understandable since she was one, despite her strange coloring. She heard another shot behind her and dashed across the road, not noticing the car.

She hit the front bumper and the car jerked to a stop. The man driving got out and came around the front f the car, kneeling down next to her. She lifted her head and looked at him. The man sighed with relief and ran his hands over her, checking for broken bones. He found her collar and looked at it for a moment.

"Kai? That's a good girl. I'll take you home okay. You'll be alright." He crooned to her as he went and opened the back door of his car. He spread a blanket on the seat and came back to her. She whapped her tail gently as he picked her up and put her on the backseat of the car.

"I don't know who would shoot such a pretty little girl like yourself. You look a little too much like a coyote to run around here though, miss Kai." He got a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down Samuel's address and phone number from the tags. He climbed into the drivers seat and dialed Sam's number as he pressed the accelerator.

"Hello?" Samuel answered on the third ring.

"Hello. I found your dog. She ran in front of my car but she isn't too badly hurt. She has a bullet wound in her leg though. You shouldn't let her run wild."

"Thank you. I try to keep her penned up but she's an escape artist. Do you have my address?"

"Yeah it's on her tags. Shall I take her to your house?"

"Yes. I'll take her to my vet as soon as you get here. Thank you."

"It's no problem. At least I have a good excuse for being late to my meeting. Can you give me a little help finding your place?" Samuel gave the man directions to Mercy's.

* * *

Samuel swore softly and colorfully after he hung up the phone. He went into his bedroom and pulled the blankets off his bed and put fresh sheets on it. He laid down some towels and got the tools that he kept in the house in case one of the Wolves got hurt and needed his help. He paced restlessly. She had to be okay. In the past few days he had done a little bit of house shopping and he had found one that he thought might just be perfect but, damn it, if she… a car that he didn't recognize pulled up outside the house. Samuel had to force himself to wait for just a few moments before throwing the door open. He walked over to the car and the man got out.

"I'll pay for some of the vet bills if you'd like, but I really need to get to work. Here's my card." Samuel nodded and took the card, shoving it into his pocket. The man opened the back door.

"Thank you for bringing her home." Samuel said as he stepped past the man and gently lifted Kai into his arms.

"No problem. You can use this blanket to cover your seat if you want." Samuel nodded.

"Thanks. The car isn't locked could you…?" The other man nodded and grabbed the blanket and took it over to Samuel's car, spreading it out on the backseat.

"Alright, well, I have to go."

"Thanks again." The man nodded again and walked back to his car. Samuel put Kai on the blanket, killing time until the man was out of earshot. Once the other car was around a corner and out of sight Samuel picked Kai up again and took her inside. He put her on his bed and ran his hands over her still form. He found the bullet wound in her leg and removed the bullet as carefully as he could. Kai whimpered.

"Shh… I'm sorry. I know it hurts. You'll be all right. I need you to Shift for me sweetie. Can you do that?" He waited for a moment, then she Shifted. He checked her over for other injuries but didn't find anything other than some nasty bruises. He bandaged her thigh and pulled the sheet up over her.

"Are you okay Kai? Do you want some Advil or something?"

"I'm okay, thanks though."

"Are you hungry? I can make you some food." Samuel offered.

"Maybe in a bit thanks. Will Mercy mind…"

"No. She'll be fine with it. She might be a little mad that I didn't tell her about you earlier but I can handle Mercy."

Kai smirked. "Those sound like famous last words."

Samuel smiled. "I'll go find you some clothes." He left the room and gently closed the door behind himself. He glanced at his watch. Mercy would be home any minute. As if on cue he heard Mercy's car coming. He sighed and walked outside to meet her.

* * *

Please


	4. Chapter 4

This looks pretty short too. Sorry. I've added a section to the last chapter to make it longer and have changed a few mostly insignificant things in the other ones too… I need to find a way to add more fluff… Thanks, as always, to the people reading this, I adore reviews. Just saying. Sorry it took me so long to write this, I had a bit of writer's block… Enjoy.

* * *

Kai listened as he opened the door and went outside. A few seconds later she heard the car pull in. _Mercy must be here…_She climbed out of bed, her wounded thigh protesting. She gently flexed her leg before putting any weight on it. It would hold her but she shouldn't stay on it too long.

She sighed and ran a hand through her tangled hair, wondering how she had gotten herself into this predicament. She didn't have any clothing, she had a bullet wound in her leg, and she was stranded in the home of a person that she had never met before. She looked around the room, her eyes finding a blanket.

She wrapped it around herself, tucking it in securely, blushing as she realized that Samuel had seen her naked. She sat down on the bed again. She could hear the low murmur of voices, Sam's and a woman's, presumably Mercy, but she couldn't quite hear what they were saying. She frowned and tried harder.

*** * ***

Mercy stilled as soon as she got out of her car, scenting the air. She shot Samuel a sharp look. He looked away.

"Samuel? Why do I smell blood and another coyote?"

Samuel refused to look at her.

"She didn't want me to tell you yet."

Mercy sighed, annoyed.

"Who Sam?"

Samuel looked up and met Mercy's gaze. "The Walker I found on my way home from Montana."

"Oh." Mercy was silent for a moment, thinking. "Well," she said slowly, "that explains why you've been acting strange ever since you came back. I thought that the Marrok or Charles had said something." Mercy frowned. "But why is there blood?"

"She was exploring the area for a few days and she somehow got shot. A car hit her and the driver brought her back here. I just finished getting the bullet out and I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet."

"Is she awake?"

"She was when I came out here to meet you."

"Have you gotten her some clothes yet?" Mercy asked with a pointed look.

"No. I was going to try to find something clean of yours for her to wear when I heard you coming."

Mercy sighed. "Sorry. You go see how she's doing and I'll find something for her."

Samuel nodded his appreciation and held the door open for her. Mercy dropped her purse and keys just inside the door and walked briskly to her room. Samuel went to his room and knocked softly before he opened the door. Kai was standing, balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to fight or run on an instants notice if she needed to. Samuel held his hands out, trying to make himself appear harmless. The girl relaxed a little and smirked at him.

"You need to work on that one. You don't pull off helpless very well. Sorry."

Samuel smiled. "How are you doing?"

She snorted softly. "The same as I was five minutes ago. I'm fine Samuel. Is Mercy mad?" Kai asked, all traces of amusement leaving her face.

"Why would Mercy be mad?" Marcy asked from behind Samuel. Samuel moved out of her way and Mercy quickly looked Kai over. She shot Samuel a look. He was watching Mercy's expression intently. Mercy brushed past him and walked calmly over to Kai.

"I'm Mercedes. You can call me Mercy if you like." She said, extending her hand with a warm smile.

"I'm Kai. Nice to meet you Mercy." Kai said, shaking her hand. Mercy offered her the bundle of clothes she was holding.

"Here. You can wear these. They should fit you okay and they're clean. Unless you'd prefer something of Sam's."

Kai shook her head. "These are fine. Thank you Mercy."

Mercy smiled. "It's no problem. Come on out when you're ready and we'll talk."

Kai nodded and Mercy towed Samuel out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Samuel allowed Mercy to pull him all the way to the kitchen. She turned to face him and he sighed.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry but it's not really my fault that she's so young. I learned my lesson Mercy. I'm not going to try to force her into anything. In my experience, trying to force a coyote to do anything just backfires anyway."

Mercy sighed. "I know you wont force her into anything but… I hope you'll understand if I do my best to make sure that she doesn't do anything that she'll regret."

Samuel hid the sharp stab of pain he felt that Mercy thought that Kai would end up regretting anything she did with him.

* * *

Kai examined the clothes that Mercy had brought her. She put the under things on and unfolded the tee shirt. It was plain black with no logos or anything. She pulled it on and smiled a little. She had always liked shirts that hugged her curves. The sweats had a few stains on them but that was okay.

She pulled those on too and opened the door, not giving in to the urge to limp. She didn't want to show her weakness to the older woman and Samuel would probably just fuss and make her lay down if he saw her limping. She followed the sound of low voices into a small kitchen. She frowned as she heard Mercy say,

"I hope you'll understand if I do my best to make sure that she doesn't do anything that she'll regret." There was obviously some history between the two. Her frown deepened as it struck her how harsh Mercy's words were. What would she do with him that she'd regret anyway? It wasn't like she had any intention of sleeping with Samuel. She purposefully brushed against the doorframe as she came into the kitchen. Mercy turned and smiled at her. Kai smiled back and looked over at Samuel. His eyes lit a little at the sight of her. She smiled a little brighter, just for him. She turned back to Mercy.

"Sorry to just drop in on you like this. I can find somewhere else to stay if you want. I just needed an address to put on my tags in case someone picked me up. It's hard to escape from the pound."

"No, no it's fine Kai. Stay as long as you like. I spend most nights at Adam's house anyway. Adam is the local Werewolf Alpha and my mate."

Kai's posture stiffened a little. She couldn't believe that she had let her guard down as far as she had. Mercy was the Alpha's mate. She glanced at Samuel, suddenly very curious why she allowed a lone wolf to live in her house. She didn't want to take her eyes off of the older woman but she needed to make sure that she wouldn't trip over anything if she had to make a dash for the door. There was nothing on the floor in her way. She quickly returned her gaze to Mercy.

Samuel's wolf snarled viciously as she looked at Mercy with such wariness and mistrust in her eyes. He would find whoever had hurt her and they would pay. Mercy very slowly moved to the table and sat down. Samuel's eyes narrowed slightly as he realized that she want watching him, only Mercy, and that she had only gotten so suspicious after Mercy said that she was Adam's mate. He slowly moved over to her side. Kai relaxed a little as he came to her. His hand brushed against hers and he sat down in the seat between her and Mercy. Kai took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Sorry. I just…"

"Its alright Kai." Mercy said with an understanding look. "Were you abused by a pack?" She asked quietly. Kai looked down.

"No. I'm sorry Mercy I'm sure that…"

"It's alright Kai. It's not your fault."

They were all silent for a few minutes then Samuel looked up at her.

"How did you get shot?"

Kai sighed. "I was outside the city limits, I think I was at least, and a hunter mistook me for a coyote. Rather understandable." She said with a smirk. "He only hit my leg and I didn't want his to get another chance to try to finish me off so I ran. I tried to dodge across the road, obviously not seeing the car. The man in the car brought me home."

Mercy nodded and Samuel frowned.

"Kai, when was the last time you ate?"

Kai blinked. "This morning. Why?"

Samuel sighed. "You need to eat more."

"I eat when I can." She said defensively. His wolf raged. Mercy got up and found her phone book.

"How does pizza sound?"

Kai grinned. "Sounds wonderful."

"What kind do you like best?"

"Some sort of beef thing?"

"Not pepperoni?" Samuel asked, surprised. He had thought that she would be a pepperoni girl.

Kai shook her head. "I try not to eat unclean meats if I can help it."

Mercy looked up from the phone book. "Unclean as in biblically unclean?"

Kai nodded. "Yep. You religious?"

Mercy smiled. "A bit."

Kai looked at Samuel but he want looking at her and didn't see her look. Mercy called the pizza place and Samuel glanced at his watch.

"Kai?" He asked quietly, getting her attention. She moved closer to him. "Are you alright with Mercy? My shift starts in a few hours but I can call in sick if you want me to stay here with you."

Kai hesitated for a moment. "I'm alright. Thank you for the offer Sam."

She had called him Sam. Suddenly he realized that she had called him Sam on occasion several times now. He smiled softly.

* * *

Please


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you all so much for reading. It's really encouraging to see that people like this. Reviews help me write faster… Again just, you know, throwing that out there… You guys are all so awesome, thanks for reading this. I'm sure that it's painful in parts. Any comments, criticism, suggestions, and/or enthusiastic support are, as always more than welcome. Enjoy.

* * *

Samuel and Kai were both silent for a few minutes as mercy talked on the phone with the pizza guy, then Samuel asked,

"Where are your things? I can pick them up on my way back from work if you want."

"Yeah, that'd be nice. My bag is in the pa…" Kai trailed off abruptly as the door opened and Adam came in. Samuel silently berated himself for being too caught up in watching Kai to not notice Adam's approach. The girl tensed, prepared to bolt as she felt Adam's power wash through the house.

Mercy glanced up as she put the phone back in its holder, freezing as she saw Adam. Apparently she hadn't noticed his approach either.

Kai trembled, the urge to flee overwhelming. Unfortunately though, Adam was between her and the door, effectively cutting off all chances of escape. She slowly backed away from the Alpha as he slowly took a step back and shot Mercy an inquiring look.

"She's very shy around Alpha's," Mercy quietly explained, "I'm not sure why. She say's that she wasn't abused by a pack but she reacted badly when she found out that I was the Alpha's mate."

Samuel got to his feet and placed himself between Kai and Adam. Adam slowly moved to the nearest chair and sat down, trying to make himself less of a threat to the young coyote.

Kai moved a little to the side so that she had a clear view around Samuel. It touched her that he was willing to stand between her and this Alpha. She hoped that it wouldn't endanger his arrangement with the Pack that allowed him to stay here. She didn't know much about Were's but she did know that it was bad to challenge an Alpha's authority.

Adam watched the young Walker as she eyed him with fear. "How old is she?" He asked quietly. There was a moment of silence then Samuel's answered,

"Sixteen." Adam's jaw clenched. Kai's eyes narrowed, he looked familiar. Where would she have seen the Werewolf Alpha of the Tri-cities? Mercedes Thompson. The news. Kai bit back her curse. Just her luck, she had only come to the most publicized pack in the country. He was Adam Hauptman. Kai consciously pushed back her fear and forced herself to relax a bit. She had to make them think that she was calm and get the Alpha farther away from the door.

Samuel frowned slightly. Kai wouldn't have calmed down that fast, she had been far more afraid of Adam then she had of Mercy and she had had a good reason to trust Mercy. As far as he knew she had no reason to lower her guard for Adam.

"Are you alright Kai?" Samuel asked softly.

Kai mentally swore again. She knew that she should have used a fake name with him. There was no way that she would be able to stay here. Not in Adam Hauptman's territory. Not with that gunman. It was unlikely that he had just been a hunter and she knew it. No, the brief hint of his scent that she had caught had been familiar. She had already stayed too long. Samuel turned to face her.

"Kai?"

She managed a weak smile for him. It would be hard to leave him like this but she had no choice. She couldn't stay and he had a life here. She couldn't let him get hurt.

"I'm fine Sam."

He looked unconvinced.

"I'm just tired. Can I go lay down for a bit?"

Samuel nodded and held out his hand to her. She took it and let him lead her toward his room, giving a wide birth to Adam.

Samuel kept himself between Kai and the Alpha the whole way. He opened the door to his room for her. She smiled up at him.

"Thanks. For everything. I really owe you Samuel."

He shook his head, "No, Thank _you,_ Kai."

Kai looked up at him, puzzled. "Me? What did I do?"

He gazed gently down at her. "You give an old wolf hope." He whispered softly. Kai stared into his eyes for a second more then wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug and reached up on her tip toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. She released him and ducked into his room, closing the door, before he had a chance to react.

He stood there looking at the door for a moment then he turned and padded back to where Adam and Mercy were talking quietly.

Kai closed her eyes tightly, refusing to cry, as she heard him walking away. She would miss him.

Moving silently, she walked over to the bed and found where he had put her collar. She removed the tags, careful not to let them make any noise, and set them down on his pillow, hoping that he would understand. She put her collar on and opened the window, taking a deep breath of the clear night air.

It was already dark, for which she was grateful. She slipped out of Mercy's clothes and folded them neatly, setting them on the foot of the bed. She wished that she had something that smelled like Samuel but she couldn't take anything with her. Suddenly she remembered that she had never returned his shirt from the hotel.

She allowed herself a small smile as she climbed out the window.

As soon as her feet hit the ground she changed into a coyote, wincing as her injured leg was jolted. The bandage slipped off her leg but that was just as well. The white sort of stood out in the darkness anyhow. She glanced around, scenting the air, before heading in the opposite direction from where she could smell the Werewolves.

She would need to think of a way to disguise her scent but she was getting better at that. Or, she thought with a frown, maybe she wasn't. How _had they_ tracked her so far anyway? The river. She could use the river.

She changed her course and headed for the water. She had to pass the Werewolves house to get to the river.

She slowed down and slunk along, her belly low to the ground. She couldn't hear anything from inside the house but there were three cars in the driveway and a man standing on the porch, leaning against the railing.

She glanced behind her at the road as she heard a car stop in front of Mercy's house. It was a pizza delivery car. Kai threw caution aside. She had to get away before they realized that she was missing.

She ignored the man on the front porch of the Alpha's house when he quietly asked if it was Mercy. The Wolf had a nifty British accent. She put her head down and ran as fast as she could on her wounded leg, trying not to limp too obviously.

The man on the porch jumped down and walked quickly over to her trail, bending down and breathing in her scent. He frowned and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, quickly punching in a number that he obviously knew by heart.

"You missing a coyote?"

"Pick her up if you can but be gentle." Ben hung up and ran after Kai.

She pinned her ears back as she heard him coming after her. The pain in her leg was excruciating and she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to get away. They would be angry with her that she had tried to get away. She had to escape. She wasn't sure how far Samuel could go to keep her safe.

She trotted into the water, going straight out into the river. She wasn't sure that it would stop the wolf but he slid to a stop at the bank, cursing. If she had been in human form she would have smirked as she added several choice words to her vocabulary. She turned and swam up the river away from the Tri-Cities. The Werewolf kept pace with her along the bank. She heard others coming, and, recognizing Samuel's steps, changed her course and swam directly across the river.

When she got to the other side she limped along at a trot in the shallows. The water would wash away her tracks and hide her scent as long as she stayed in it. She stubbornly refused to look back at the other bank. She had already said her goodbyes to Samuel and she didn't want to have to face him. She trotted up out of the water and slipped into the undergrowth that lined the bank.

She kept up a steady, if slow, pace for a long while before she finally stopped and sat down to lick her wound. When she was satisfied that it was clean she got up and scented the air. She still couldn't smell any Werewolves around and that surprised her.

She rested for another five minute then swam back across the Columbia River. She was tired but she needed to get to a bit safer of a spot before she could nap.

She heaved a sigh and headed back toward the Tri-Cities, staying as deep in the water as she could and still touch the ground.

* * *

Samuel heard the car pull up in front of the house and walked back to his room to check on Kai. Mercy got up to get the door for the pizza man. Samuel knocked softly on the door, and, when Kai didn't answer and he didn't hear any movement, he opened the door. His eyes took in the open window, the neatly folded clothes, and the tags on his pillow but he refused to believe that she would have left him. He quickly moved over to the bed and felt the clothes. They were cold. He picked up her tags off of his pillow and walked numbly back out to the kitchen, his hand curled into a fist around the small metal objects in his palm.

Mercy came back inside with the pizzas and set them down on the table. She looked up at Samuel and took in his white eyes and clenched hand.

"What's wrong Samuel?" He didn't answer her. He just dropped Kai's tags onto the table and walked quickly toward the door. Adam's cell phone rang and he answered it tersely.

"Yeah."

All three of them could clearly hear Ben's voice as he asked, "You missing a coyote?"

"Pick her up if you can but be gentle." Adam told Ben and hung up. Samuel was already out the door. Mercy and Adam followed him wordlessly. The three loped across the ten acres that separated the two houses.

By the time they got there Kai was already across the river.

Ben looked at Mercy. "I didn't know that there were more Walkers running around. Did you?"

Mercy shook her head. "I didn't. Samuel found her."

Ben shot Samuel a wary look. Samuel ignored him, his gaze on the retreating figure of Kai. Ben moved so that Mercy was between himself and Samuel in case he was listening before he said,

"She's pretty cute. Did you see her?"

Samuel growled and Mercy shook her head. "No, I didn't see her."

Samuel's voice was low and threatening as he said, "If you _ever_ go near Kai without my permission…"

Adam stepped between the two Werewolves and glared at Samuel. Samuel stalked away, back toward Mercy's house.

Mercy sighed quietly. "Someone should call Bran."

"Leave my father out of this." Samuel growled back over his shoulder.

Adam answered him with a growl of his own, "Don't snarl at my mate."

Samuel didn't answer.

She had started to tell him where her things were. In a park, probably. But which park? Should he ask Adam for help and have some of the wolves watch parks to see if she came? Or would she just run if she thought that there were Werewolves after her. He would try the park that he had first dropped her off at, Samuel decided. It would take her a while to get anywhere with her leg injured as it was.

He should never have let her out of his site. He should have known better when she started acting strange after Adam came. He should have stayed in the room with her. Should have heard Adam coming. It would be his fault if anything happened to her.

Finally he got to his car. He quickly climbed in and started the car, backing it out of the driveway and speeding down the road, trying to ignore the lingering scent of her blood.

* * *

Please


	6. Chapter 6

Yay! Heh heh, the plot thickens… I love you guys! Thank you to anyone who's reading this and especially to anyone who reviews. Lionandthelamblove7, Aeternitas venatrix, Kimi24, Ephona, Forestreject, and Twilifecrisis, thank you so, so very much for reviewing the last chapter. Your encouragement means a lot. And helps me write faster… Also, if you ask nice in a review, I might be willing to reveal a little more of the plot… Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

She wasn't sure what time it was but the moon had already set and if she had had to guess she would have said that it was beginning to near dawn, though no light had yet touched the horizon.

She had been plodding through the cold river water for hours. Her paws had gone numb a long time ago and with each step she had wondered if it would really been so bad to stay. Mercy had seemed nice enough and she might have been able to talk to the Alpha on her behalf. Samuel had been so kind to her, she hated to leave him like this.

But she couldn't put him in any danger. If she had stayed, people would have gotten hurt. She silently cursed her mother for what she had done. If she hadn't left her with _them_, none of this would be happening. Her leg throbbed in time with her heartbeat, even though a while back she had stopped even trying to put weight on it. She knew that her stamina was running dangerously low. Even as the thought of stopping for a bit crossed her mind, her legs gave way. The water had stopped feeling cold and she couldn't have gotten any wetter if she had tried so she just lay there for a few minutes, trying to work up the strength to crawl out of the water.

She had managed to slip past the Alpha's house without detection, surprised that there weren't Wolves out searching for her. Perhaps they had decided that it would be too much trouble to try and find her. It troubled her that the Werewolf that had been on the Alpha's porch had recognized what she was so fast. It took most things a while to realize that she wasn't a true coyote-dog. Her coloring was too dog-like for most to think that she was pure coyote. She wasn't sure why she was a little disappointed that they weren't searching for her. She needed to get her head back in order.

Now she was passing some houses that were nicely situated by the river. Kai's mind was foggy with exhaustion, but even so she realized that if she didn't get out of the cold water now, she probably wasn't going to.

She painfully crawled up out of the water, up onto the riverbank, and collapsed again, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Samuel drove to the park that he had left her in when they first got to the city and climbed out of the car. No one else was around but that wasn't too surprising since it was pretty late. He look around, searching for a likely place that Kai might have stashed her things while she was in coyote form. There were several clumps of bushes but only two were very thick.

He walked to the first one, searching for tracks or her scent around the bushes. A real coyote had been past not too many hours ago, some kids earlier in the day, a few dogs, and a cat or two, but no trace of Kai that he could detect.

He scanned the park again, locating another few possibilities of places that she might have hidden things in case he didn't find anything in this next clump of bushes. He strode purposefully over to them and immediately picked up her scent. She had been here several times. He circled around the bushes, quickly locating the spot that she used to get inside. He paused, debating whether he should pull back and try not to make his scent to noticeable, or just go ahead and find her bag in the bushes and make sure that she was even going to come back here. He decided on the latter. He dropped to his knees, passing through the bushes where they were a bit less dense down low. There was a small break in the surrounding bushes in the center and he spotted her bag almost immediately. He hesitated again, weighing the risks against the benefits, and grabbed her bag, fighting his way out of the enclosing bushes. Once he was free he walked over to a tree that was in a good position to watch the bushes from. He sat down underneath it and opened her bag. He found her Ipod and headphones. He located the playlist that had been playing in the car and plugged the headphones in, turning the volume down so that he could just barely hear it when he set it in his lap. He smiled as he remembered the conversations that he had had with the spunky teen.

After a few hours a car pulled into the parking lot. Samuel tensed and turned off the music, setting the player and headphones off to one side. The driver of the car left it idling and got out, closing the door quietly behind himself. The newcomer moved with a strength and grace that made Samuel wonder if perhaps the man was a dancer. He walked toward Kai's clump of bushes, slipping from shadow to shadow, wraith-like, each movement precise and purposeful. He cast around a bit them looked around. Samuel held very still, holding his breath. After a moment the stranger spoke.

"I see I have some competition." His voice was quiet and amused. Samuel didn't answer.

"Are you looking for her, or just trying to collect the bounty?" Again, Samuel didn't respond. The man chuckled.

"Alright then, Wolf. I'll let you watch this spot but don't think I'll be easy to discourage. Lot of money for one little girl, eh?" The stranger walked calmly back to his car, disappearing into the night.

Samuel waited until he was sure that the other man wasn't coming back before getting up and going over to investigate his scent. Samuel frowned. The man was a Were but he wasn't a Werewolf. He smelled like a feline but there was something in his scent that reminded Samuel of his half-brother, Charles.

* * *

Kai woke slowly, her body stiff and sore. She opened her eyes only to close them again quickly. It was morning. She wasn't particularly fond of morning and it seemed to dislike her back. The sun was shining right in her eyes, but the rest of her was in the shade so she was still cold. She sniffed the air, trying to remember exactly where she had stopped for the night. She opened her eyes slowly. There was a dog standing right behind her. She cautiously got to her feet, ignoring her body's protests. She turned around. The dog was tall, taller than her and his black coat was thicker than hers too. Normally she'd be able to outrun almost any dog but in the condition she was in she doubted that she would last very long. Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her and another dog bounded up. The newcomer was a Border collie mix and she sniffed at Kai curiously. Those weren't the footsteps she had heard though. She slowly turned to face the dog's owner. He was standing with the sun at his back so she couldn't make out his face but his scent seemed familiar. She couldn't tell where she had smelled him before though. He knelt down and carefully extended and hand towards her.

"Easy there. What's a pretty thing like you doing out here without your owner huh?" Kai sniffed his hand warily. His voice was familiar too. The Border collie bounded around them, wanting to play.

"Bree! Settle down." The boy commanded. He reached out his other hand and gently grasped her collar. She jumped away as she heard a click but it was too late. She hadn't seen the leash in his hand.

"Hey, easy there. I'm not going to hurt you. You're covered in mud. Come on, lets go wash you up a little bit then we'll see if we can't find your owner. Heel Shadow. Bree, honestly, cut it out." Jake. It was Jake, the boy from her first day in the Tri-Cities. She mentally cursed, but had no choice but to follow him. She hadn't thought to get a collar with a breakaway clip. He led her into a fenced yard just up the bank from where she had been lying and over to am old tub that had one side cut off of it that was situated next to the hose. He knelt down next to her.

"What are we going to cal you, huh?" He ran his hands around her collar, looking for tags.

"This is a nice collar you've got. It looks pretty new. You don't have any tags though. You look like you might have a bit of coyote in you though. Kai?"

Kai looked up at him, eyes wide and her ears pricked. How had he guessed so quickly? Jake smiled.

"I wondered. Well then Kai, what are you doing here without Kim or her aunt? And where are those tags that Kim made for you he other day? Lucky for you I have her phone number. Let wash you up a little before I call her though. It's still pretty early."

Kai reluctantly let him lead her into the tub. He hosed her off then opened a plastic tote bin that was next to the tub. He pulled out a bottle of shampoo and worked some into her fur. She involuntarily whined when the soap got into her wound. Jake pulled back and looked at her.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" He ran his hands gently over her, stopping when he found the wound in her leg. He gently rinsed the soap away from the area and parted her fur so that he could get a better look.

"Where did you get shot? Poor Kai, I'll get Mom out here as soon as I have the soap off, all right? She's a vet, you'll be fine." He gently rinsed the shampoo out of her fur and told her to lye down. She obeyed, as any well-trained dog would. He got to his feet and trotted to the back door of the house.

"Stay girl. I'll be right back." He told her as he slipped inside. Shadow came over and nudged her. Kai looked up at him and he gave her a doggy smile, wagging his tail. She tapped her tail in return as Bree came over too. The energetic collie licked Kai's face eagerly, inviting her to come play. Kai gently declined the offer. Bree jumped on Shadow instead then ran off and grabbed a stick. Shadow bounded over to he and tried to take the stick away. Kai watched the two dogs play for a moment, remembering playing with Samuel in the hotel. She sighed and turned away. She got up and tugged on the leash a bit to see if the clip that Jake had secured it to was strong enough to hold her there. It was. She pulled back against it, writhing, trying to slip her collar. The door top the house opened again and Jake came out with a woman in tow, presumably his mother, the vet.

"Hey! Settle down Kai. Easy girl. After Mom takes a look at you I'll call Kim okay?" Kai stopped pulling against the leash and sat down again. Jake and his Mom reached her side and Jake held her head while the vet carefully examined her leg.

"There's a bit of dirt in it but it doesn't look like the bullet is still inside her leg."

"How can it not still be there? There's no exit wound."

"It looks like someone already removed the bullet. It's not bleeding but it's still a fresh wound. Get some towels and we'll dry her off and take her inside where it's warm and give her some food and water. I'll look at it again when she's in better light."

Jake got up and went back into the house while the vet checked the rest of Kai over for injuries.

"You look like you had a pretty rough night, but you don't look too bad. You don't have any flees, no mites, and, as far as I can tell, no ticks, just a hole in your hind leg. Did Jake give you a drink before your bath?" She got up and filled a bowl with fresh water, setting it down in front of Kai. Kai wagged her tail and lapped up her fill of water. She couldn't quite believe that she was thirsty. She had just spent almost the whole night in the water, but the water tasted good. Jake came out with several towels and handed one to his mother. Together they made quick work of drying Kai off. Jake unclipped her leash and moved toward the house. Kai limped along behind him as quickly as she could but his strides were longer. He looked back at her with a frown.

"You poor thing." He said as he walked back to her and scooped her up onto his arms. "You can rest on Shadow's bed alright? He won't mind and it's softer than the floor. We'll get you some food too." Jake carried her inside and closed the door, cutting off all chances of escape before they discovered that she had given them a fake number. Sometimes being a coyote really sucked; coyotes can't open doors on their own.

* * *

Please (Seriously, it's not that hard :D )


	7. Chapter 7

Arg! I am soooo sorry that this took so long! I was away for a week-end and then school started and I had a bit of writers block and… I know, lame excuses. I'll try to update more regularly, depending on my homework (its so annoying…) and stuff. Thank you soooo much to my reader and most especially to my reviewers!!! You guys are great. LionAndTheLambLove7, WinglessAngelsStillFly, ForestReject, TwilifeCrisis, Nobody Special, A Single Broken Frame, and Katzenpfote were all kind enough to review the last chapter. A Single Broken Frame even went so far as to write reviews far all six as she read them! I know! How awesome of her!

I pronounce it 'k-eye' :) Good question.

Heh heh, she used to be a prisoner of some were-cats but she escaped and so that's who are looking for her… Enjoy!

* * *

Jake's mother walked into the kitchen that was right off the small hallway that Jake had brought her in through and open a few cupboards, taking out a can of what Kai guessed must be dog food. Jake carried her past the kitchen and a flight of stairs that led up to the second story. He took her down the four steps that were just past the other ones and set her down gently on a large, soft dog bed that smelled like Shadow. He sat down beside her with a sigh, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. Kai shifted as far down into the bed as she could as Jake began to punch in the number that she had given him. He had memorized it. She might have been flattered if it had been a different situation. Far different. Kai listened in as the phone stopped ringing and a man picked up on the other end, giving the name of the company. Jake frowned.

"I'm sorry, I think I have the wrong number. Sorry for the trouble." Jake hung up the phone, checking the number that he had called. "This _should_ be the right number… But I'll go look. Stay here Kai. I'll be right back, good girl." Jake got to his feet and trotted up the stairs. Kai allowed herself to relax and her eyes slid closed as she fell deeply asleep.

* * *

Samuel called in sick again the next morning after waiting in the park all night. He wanted to stay and watch for Kai but he couldn't risk the other man finding her first. His encounter with the Were-cat bothered him. Why was there a bounty on Kai's head? Was the reason that she seemed to know a bit about Weres and yet had never met a werewolf because she 'belonged' to another variety of Weres? He had to find his Kai. He needed information. He pulled his phone out and called Charles.

* * *

Kai woke up slowly that afternoon. She slowly stretched with a small whimper as her abused muscles protested loudly. She opened her eyes. She was lying on a dog bed in what appeared to be someone's basement. There was a couch and two armchairs facing a TV in the corner. A teenage boy was sprawled out across the couch with a textbook and a bunch of papers scattered around. Jake. What was… Her memories came back to her. She was so tired, she usually didn't have such issues when she woke up but she had a lot to worry about. She couldn't stay here. Staying with the werewolves left far less of a chance that someone would get hurt than staying with humans did. She couldn't risk the loss of life on her account. How could she escape? She could shift, but she didn't really care for Jake to see her naked. She could wait until he took her outside and then she could attempt to jump the fence and get away fast enough that he couldn't catch her. But he would have to let her off leash for that, which he might not. Did she have any other options? She couldn't think of any. She got to her feet and Jake looked up.

"Hey Kai. You're probably hungry huh. We tried to get you some food earlier but you fell asleep too soon and we didn't have the heart to wake you. You looked so peaceful." Jake frowned as he got up. "I couldn't reach Kim though. I think she must have given me the wrong number. I tried lots of variations on the number she gave me but none of them were hers. She could have just declined." He grumbled to himself as he walked to the kitchen. Kai padded behind him, the leash that was still attached to her collar dragging behind her. They passed Shadow and Bree in the short hall/entrance way. The two dogs were in kennels and looked up as they walked past. Jake got down a bowl off of the kitchen counter and set it down on the floor. Kai eyed it for a moment then settled down to eat. Jake placed a bowl of water next to her and got out a glass for himself.

"I'll have to make posters or something. Put them up around the neighborhood and stuff. Kim and her aunt must be frantic looking for you."

Kai ate faster. He couldn't take pictures of her. If he put up posters with her on them him and his whole family would probably die, perhaps her along with them if the hunter out in the fields was anything to go by. She finished her food and Jake picked up the leash, leading her outside to relive herself. He kept her on leash the whole time and, even if he hadn't, Kai knew that there was no way that she would have been able to clear their fence in the condition that she was in. He took her back inside and down to the basement. She lay down on Shadow's bed again and Jake sat beside her. There was no one else in the house, though there were at least four people that lived here, including Jake, and many more that visited regularly. Far, far too many people to risk over her own worthless hide. She shifted. Jakes eyes widened as suddenly, instead of a coyote, there was a naked girl sitting on the dog bed next to him.

"Kim?" He asked with shock, the scent of his fear obvious. Kai nodded and covered herself as best she could with her hands. His eyes dropped to follow her movements and she drew her knees up to her chest.

"Hey Jake…" She said, trying to sound as not-awkward as was possible in a situation like that. "Sorry to… uh, startle you like that…"

He opened his mouth but had to try a few times before he could get his question out. "Are- are you a Were?"

Kai shook her head. "No. I'm not a Were. I'm much more harmless than any Were."

Jake looked slightly disturbed still. Dubious.

"I am. Just trust me. I'm really; really sorry about giving you the wrong number Jake. I didn't want to but I didn't really have a choice."

Jake blushed. "Sorry I-"

"It's okay Jake. You didn't know who I was."

Jake nodded. "So… are you Kim or Kai?"

Kai hesitated. It would be easier for Jake if he called her Kai, that way there would be less chance that he would slip up and have the urge to try to explain her to someone else. But on the other hand, there was significantly less danger to her if he called her Kim.

She sighed. "Kai. I had to give you a different name that way I could safely make tags."

Jake nodded in understanding. "So is your aunt fictional too?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Jake blushed again and got to his feet, grabbing a blanket off of the far chair. He tossed it to Kai and sat down again on the edge of the couch.

Kai flushed too and wrapped the blanket around herself. "Thanks." She said quietly, looking down.

"No problem." Jake said, looking acutely uncomfortable. "I figured that you might be more comfortable…"

Kai nodded. "I won't stay here long, in fact, I plan to leave before nightfall."

Jake blinked. "But… you can stay if you want to. Wait, whose address did you put on your tags?"

Kai kept her gaze down, hiding the turbulent emotions that she knew would show in her eyes.

"A friend."

Jake cocked his head to one side. "Why didn't you go there?"

Kai shifted uncomfortably. "I… I was there. There was an… incident and I had to leave."

Jake's eyes sharpened. "Did someone hurt you?" He asked quietly.

Kai looked up and met his eyes for a brief moment. "No… I just had to leave."

Jake frowned at her. "Have you spoken to the Alpha? He might be able to help you with whatever it is that you're running from."

She tensed and looked up at him sharply and Jake sighed.

"Look Kai, it's really not that hard to figure out. If you need a safe place to stay then you're welcome here for as long as you'd like. And I really think that it would be good to talk to the Alpha."

"The Alpha can't help me." _And even if there were a chance that they could I wouldn't risk… I'm done being a prisoner._ Kai added silently.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Jake licked his lips.

"Uh, so are you hungry? I can get you some real food if you want."

"No, it's alright. Dog food really isn't as bad as you might think."

Jake smiled. "Yeah? Maybe I'll try it sometime. Do you want a shower?" Suddenly his face turned crimson. "I didn't mean anything earlier by… I thought you were a dog… If I'd known I wouldn't have…"

The boy seemed to be having trouble talking. Kai took a guess at what he was talking about. "You mean the bath?"

Jake nodded, not looking at her. She smirked at his expression.

"It's alright. It's different when I'm in the other form and you didn't know. I would love a shower, thanks."

Jake ducked his head a bit and glanced at her. "Okay. I'll go get you a fresh towel." Jake got to his feet and bounded up the stairs to the main level then up to the second floor. Kai listened as he went into the first door on the left and opened a few cupboards, rummaging around a bit. She got up and stretched, allowing the blanket to fall to the floor. She quickly retrieved as Jake came back downstairs, wrapping it around herself hurriedly.

"The bathroom is the first door on the left side of the hallway. I put a clean towel and washrag on the counter for you. I'll get-" He faltered as the blanket slipped and looked away, blushing. "you some clothes to wear." He finished, his eyes going back to her as Kai jerked the blanket back up. His eyes darted across her frame with hidden hunger and he turned away. Kai silently followed him up the stairs, turning into the bathroom as he continued down the hall.

Kai closed the door gently behind her, not locking it in case she had to make a quick escape for some reason. She looked around the bathroom. It had a nice feel to it, the walls were a nice off-white color and the tiled floor was warm underneath her cold feet. There was a clean, white towel and washcloth on the granite countertop between the two sinks. She turned the water on to warm up as she dragged her fingers through her tangled hair. There was already shampoo and conditioner in the shower as well as a bar of soap. She dropped the blanket to the floor and tossed the towel across the top of the shower curtain. She took off her collar, setting it on the counter and slipped into the shower, wincing as the water hit her leg. Jake and his mother had done a pretty good job of washing her earlier but it would still feel really good to be clean. Really clean. If she never spent another night in the mud she would be happy. She winced as soap ran into her wound.

The door opened and she tensed. Jake quietly set something down on the counter and closed the door again. She peaked out to see what it was that he'd left. He'd brought her some clothes, bless him.

She rinsed her hair, holding her breath and gritting her teeth at the pain in her thigh.

After she was clean she turned the water off, shivering in the sudden cold. She dried herself off and stepped out of the shower, the vent in the ceiling humming away busily. She slipped into the sweatpants and tee shirt that Jake had left her, regretting the lack of underthings but it couldn't be helped. She wrapped her hair up in the towel, forming a sort of turban on top of her head. She rinsed the remaining mud off of her collar in the sink before drying it off and buckling it on again. She shook her hair down and decided that she didn't really need to find a brush. Her hair looked pretty good and she had combed her fingers through it when she was washing it. She cleaned up the shower and gathered her towel and washrag, opening the door. She stepped into the hall, hearing the ominous silence as she left behind the gently white noise that had been created by the water and fan. She silently set the towel down where she was and slunk down the stairs, scenting the air for anything out of place, her nose hampered by the unfamiliar scent of the shampoo. She glanced down to the TV room but there was no one there so she turned to the kitchen next. She crept through the doorway glancing around. Suddenly she felt strong arms clamp around her for behind and pull her against a rock hard chest. The man inclined his head and sniffed at her neck.

"Well hello there, pretty. We meet at last."

Kai struggled futilely in his iron grasp.

"Let go of me." She demanded. The man chuckled.

"Now why would I do that? If I let go of you then you'd just run off and I'd have to catch you all over again. No, I think not."

Kai kicked the man's shin but he only laughed softly in her ear. She tried to get her elbow into a position that she could hurt him but found it to be impossible. He held her still and she tried desperately to think of something that she could do. Suddenly the man released her but before she could react he had her shirt off and his arm locked around her shoulders again. Damn it, she should be faster then that. His other arm and hand slid down the soft, exposed skin of her belly and continued down, slipping the sweatpants off to pool around her ankles. She shuddered. What was he going to do to her? She shivered again with fear and cold.

"Shift." The man commanded, his voice dark. Her mind screamed to obey him, his request wasn't unreasonable and it would get her out of this position but her body wasn't listening.

"Shift or I'll do something to you that you won't like." His arm around her hips tightened slightly to re-enforce his threat. She shifted into coyote form and the man readjusted his grip before she could squirm away. He transferred her to the floor, pinning her there between his legs with one hand on the back of her neck. She heard a click as he attached a leash to her collar. His hand left her collar but she continued to lay still. Maybe if she didn't make him mad he wouldn't hurt her. He wasn't familiar to her but he was still a lot stronger then she was and he had proven himself fast. Her ears pricked as he pulled something off the counter. It jingled a bit. He moved off her and she scrambled to her feet, turning to face him. There was a sharp tug on the leash and she froze where she was. The man chuckled.

"Good girl." He murmured. She trembled as he untangled a familiar jumble of black leather and steel. He put the harness on her deftly and she shrank down, tucking her tail. There was no escaping now. He moved the leash to the clip on the harness instead and stood up. She followed meekly as he walked through the house. She locked eyes with Jake as they walked past the chair that he had been tied to. He made a small, frustrated sound that the man thankfully ignored. Kai wagged her tail ever so slightly to let him know that she didn't blame him. He was no match for a were. The man led her to the front door and opened it, motioning her out first. She followed him to his black Audi and slunk into the backseat after he opened the door for her. He closed it behind her and she felt a strange sense of finality. She wondered vaguely who he was working for. Were-cats like him made good assassins and mercenaries. He got in and started the car, pulling out onto the street. She lay down on the floor and closed her eyes, ready for the inevitable. It had been stupid to think that she could escape. They would never let her go.

* * *

Jake watched helplessly as the stranger led Kai out the front door. He had put her in a harness and he suspected that she couldn't shift in it. He had to find a way to help her. After he had gotten her the clothes someone had knocked on the door. He had answered it and the man had been inside faster then he cared to think about. He had tied Jake to the chair and put a piece of duct tape over his mouth and poked around the house a little, not touching anything.

If he could get to the phone he could call someone for help. But whom would he call? The man hadn't tied him up very tightly, just enough to keep him from making noise or moving around. He worked his wrists free and ripped the duct tape off, wincing. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, searching through his address book. He selected the number that he wanted and waited while it rang.

"Hello?"

"Jesse. It's Jake, from school." There was a moment of silence.

"Hey Jake. What's up?"

"I need help. I found a dog this morning on the riverbank only she was really a walker see? And now some guy came and took her and I'm tied up. She didn't want to call your dad, I don't know why. If he finds her will he hurt her? Would he help find her?"

The voice that answered him was definitely not Jesse.

"How long ago? Did you see the car?"

Jake hesitated. "Maybe five minutes ago? It was a black Audi, sir."

Adam sighed, "Is she all right?"

Jake wondered how much he should tell the werewolf. "Why didn't she want to call you? Is the man that came a werewolf?"

Adam didn't answer immediately. "I startled her last night. Where do you live?"

"Will you hurt her?"

"No. I don't hurt women."

Jake sighed and gave Adam directions to his house. He hoped that all this was over before his parents got home. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to explain what had happened very well. He bid farewell to the Alpha and hung up the phone.

* * *

Samuel picked up his phone, glancing at the caller ID before he picked it up. Why was Adam calling?

"Yeah?"

"I've got news on where Kai was. She circled back last night and a kid from the school found her near his house and took her in. A man showed up about ten minutes ago and took her. I'm on my way to his house now."

"Where?"

Adam told Samuel the directions that Jake had given him.

"I'll meet you there."

"Samuel do you know who the man was?"

Samuel hesitated, already starting his car. "I hope not."

Adam hung up after a moment of silence. Samuel sighed softly, pulling onto the road. Charles had called him back with his findings on known were-felines. There weren't many, but one that was known was a bounty hunter and gun for hire. Samuel hated to admit it but out of the other options the bounty hunter was the most likely. Cadfael.

* * *

Jake was watching out the window when he saw a silver Mercedes pull up outside the house. A man got out and walked purposefully toward the door. The man was fairly tall and had dusty-brown hair and a plain face but he was built like a Chippendales dancer. The man earlier had been too but he'd had dirty-blond hair and a handsome face. The man knocked and Jake walked over to the door.

"Who are you?" He said without opening it. Like that would stop a were, he thought with wry humor.

"Samuel. I'm looking for Kai. The Alpha gave me the address." Another car stopped outside the house and a car door closed. Jake peaked out the window next to the door and saw Adam Hauptman and Mercedes Thompson coming up to the door. They greeted Samuel with nods so Jake figure he must have been telling the truth. He unlocked and opened the door.

* * *

Please


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I am soooo sorry that this has taken so long! I've been really overwhelmed with school and life and stuff. I am trying to get into a better schedule though and… yeah. I will try my best to update my stories more often.

Anywho, on to happier topics. Today's my birthday and I really have been feeling bad about not updating so I though that I could do it today and ask you absolutely awesome readers to give me fifteen reviews. You would totally make my day (or week/month/year depending).

Big hugs all around, especially to Ephona, TwilifeCrisis, LionAndTheLambLove7, Kimi24, Katzenpfote, Alphamate, , WinglessAngelsStillFly, and Ultimate Fangirl who reviewed the last chapter. And of course to all of you who reviewed the previous chaps as well. Thanks for all your encouragement, support and criticism.

Okay, so apparently I'm feeling long-winded today. I'll just shut up now so y'all can read, enjoy, and review the story. Sorry it's so short. (I'm not being too selfish in asking for fifteen for this chapter, am I? More would be absolutely stunning but… ;) )

Ah, just a few more things, sorry. I made a few adjustments to the last chapter. I realized that I had nothing for Mercy and Adam to do so they left on Pack business. And ha, I had Kai get into the back seat of the car through the back door right? Well… The car doesn't _have_ a backdoor… so I fixed that. My bad. Oh and I changed the were-cat's name to Varius. I think the other one was too close to one of Ms. Briggs characters.

* * *

Samuel walked up the front steps and inside as soon as the boy had opened the door, Mercy and Adam close on his heals. He scanned the house quickly. The front door led into a small entryway floored with hardwood. To his left there was a living room and a flight of three stairs leading up at an angle to a dining room. Straight ahead there were five stairs that led up to what appeared to be a small hallway. Off the hallway there was a flight of stairs leading up to the second story. To his right there were three steps down to another living room. He scented the air and picked up the scent of fear, Kai, the man from the park, and the smells of the house. Kai's smell was strongest in the downstairs living room and up stairs in the small hallway. He went downstairs first, the boy following him.  
"If you hurt Kai…" The boy took a deep breath and calmed down slightly, his fear fading a bit. "I found Kai on the riverbank this morning. She was exhausted and had a bullet wound in her leg." Here the boy paused and shot Samuel an accusing look. Samuel's eyes lightened almost imperceptibly. Samuel turned away from the boy and headed for the three doors in the wall and corner farthest from where he was, pausing by a dog bed next to the couch that smelled like Kai.  
"We brought her inside after a bath and she fell asleep before we could feed her."  
Samuel opened the door closest to the other short flight of stairs that led up to the hallway and kitchen. It was a closet. He closed it and moved to the next one. It was a sunroom. He walked inside and opened the other door in the room. Storage. He walked back out into the main room and opened the last door. The garage. He exhaled softly in frustration.  
"Mom and Dad went to work and Kai woke up a while later. I got her some food and then after she ate I tried to call Kim… When we first met she said her name was Kim… I guess. I got some mortgage company. Kai…" The boy hesitated and blushed. "She… uh, changed and suddenly it was Kim… or Kai." He frowned, looking slightly confused. Samuel moved past him and went up the stairs to the hallway and kitchen. The scent of Kai's fear was strong here. Samuel suppressed a growl. There were some clothes on the kitchen floor. He looked back at the boy, who promptly stepped back.  
"She went up stairs and took a shower and I got her some clothes to wear…" The boy blushed again and Samuel glared at him. "I came back downstairs and the man grabbed me and tied me up in the family room." The boy indicated the first living room that Samuel had seen. He recalled seeing a chair there and some duct tape.  
"Kai came down and went into the kitchen, I think. It was hard to tell. They were both very quiet, see? Kai and the man talked a bit then the man led Kai out in coyote form with a harness on her. I don't think that she could change back to human form wearing that thing. She didn't look happy. Like, at all. She wagged her tail at me a bit but I think she was just trying to make me feel better. She was pretty meek and didn't really fight the guy that I saw. She just followed him and got into his car when he opened the door." The boys hands were clenched at his sides.  
"I was so useless to her. I shouldn't have let that guy take me by surprise. Damn it. You'll help her, right?"  
Samuel looked at the boy in front of him, wondering for a brief moment what Kai saw when she looked at him, and nodded.  
"I'll get her back." The boy looked relieved and was unaware of the things that Samuel's wolf was contemplating doing to him. He wasn't going to lose Kai to some boy. He pushed the thoughts of killing the boy aside and went outside to his car. The boy followed him.  
"I couldn't see the license plate number but the car was a Audi A5. Black, tinted windows. The usual Mafia look. Except it's a car, not an SUV…" Here the boy frowned and appeared to be deep in contemplation.

"Well, thanks for the help in finding Kai." Samuel said, opening the car door.

"Wait."

Samuel looked up at the boy inquiringly.

"I'm coming too."

* * *

Kai huddled on the floor of the car. The fear had receded, leaving her feeling drained. She listened to the healthy purr of the engine, trying to ignore the memories that tugged at the back of her mind. She didn't notice as the hum of the engine slowly faded into the contented purring of two were-cats.

* * *

Kai walked into the bedroom with her arms full of clean clothes to put away into the Mistresses dresser for her. She had waited outside the door for a few minutes, listening to make sure there was no one inside. She hadn't heard anything. Now she stood in the open doorway, gazing in horror at the pair on the bed. The Mistress screeched at her, as only an enraged cat could...

"_Don't you dare look at me, you filthy bitch." The Mistress hissed, though she made no move to cover her perfect body. Kai wasn't sure why she cared; she made Kai wait on her hand and foot when she was sunbathing. Naturally the Mistress couldn't have any tan lines. But Kai dropped her gaze to the floor anyway. The man got off the bed, stalking toward her. Kai began to slowly back away but the man grabbed her wrist, holding her in place. He struck her face. Suddenly the Master was there, saving her again._

_He forced the man to release Kai's wrist. The Master punched the younger man in the gut. They all knew that the Master's mate was unfaithful but he was wise enough to know to pick his battles. Instead, to get back at them, he kept Kai around and didn't let them hurt her. It stung their feline egos that there was a defenseless mutt around and they weren't allowed to harm her. The Master beckoned Kai to follow him as he turned and walked out of the room. Kai obeyed, grateful that he had gotten there before she had been killed or maimed. Suddenly she felt a blinding pain in her shoulder. _

_She had probably screamed, but she couldn't be sure. The world had gone dark. The man had shifted partway as Kai and the Master were leaving the room. He had sunk his claws into Kai's shoulder._

_The scene changed and Kai was walking alongside the road and Samuel pulled up next to her. She got in the car and he smiled at her. He had a truly beautiful smile. She was in the hotel room and the two of them were playing. He was so gentle. After dinner, when she had tried to slip away he had come after her. He had cared, even held her close as she cried._

Kai relaxed and fell into a deep sleep, thinking of Samuel.

* * *

"No, you're not." Samuel told the boy.

"Why not? I let her down, I have to make it up to her."

"I'm going now, and you're not coming with me. You've done enough." Samuel said harshly. After a few moments of silence, Jake gave up.

"Just find her, okay?" He said as he walked dejectedly back to the door of his house. Samuel got into his car, pulling out onto the road. He wasn't sure which direction he should go. He took turns with out thinking about it, hoping that his instinct was taking him the right way. If it wasn't then he would probably never see his odd little coyote again.

* * *

When Kai woke up they were driving past a ranger station. She could just see the sign from her spot. Mt. Rainier National Park. She jumped up on the back seat and looked out the window. It was a beautiful, sunny early summer day. The Were had the front windows down instead of the air conditioning, she wasn't sure why. Probably for the fresh air. She watched out the window as they passed through beautiful scenery. The Were glanced at her in the rear-view mirror.

"So, you're awake now, are you? Good. I thought we'd take a little detour through the park on the way to sea-tac airport, what do you think?"

Kai looked meaningfully out the window. It obviously didn't matter what she thought, they were already there.

* * *

Samuel picked up his cell phone as it rang and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Samuel." It was Charles. "Varius has a ticket on a flight out of the Seattle airport tonight to Salt Lake City International Airport."

There was a pause.

"Thanks Charles."

"It's nothing." Charles hesitated. "So, this Kaliska is something pretty special."

"Yeah."  
"Good hunting."

"Thanks." Samuel hung up.

* * *

They traveled on in silence for a long time, Kai watching the scenery as well as the Were.

After a while she stopped looking out the window all together. She could see the sights later; right now she had to escape.

She judged the distance between herself and the open window carefully. She would leap off of the cup holders between the front seat and that would give her enough power to get through the window and clear of the wheels. She watched the Were attentively. She had to time this just right. He had to have all his attention on the road or there would be a chance of him catching her. She only had this one chance to escape.

She saw her chance and jumped to the cup holders, launching herself out the open passenger window.

Unfortunately for Kai, she really should have looked before she lept, but it was too late now.

She fell though the air, down and down and down. She hit the water at the bottom of the cliff with a splash, bones breaking. Her limp body slowly bobbed back up to the surface, floating dejected and battered down the river with the current.

* * *

Varius stopped the car as soon as he could and flew out of the car. He ran to the guardrail and looked down. It was a long way. It was highly improbable that she had survived the fall and ensuing impact. He sighed heavily. This was going to be difficult to explain. He punched the metal guardrail in frustration. He got back into his car and drove away, not looking back.

* * *

Well. I guess that's that. Tough luck there for Kai at the end huh. Poor Samuel. Anyway, remember my request. You'll make my whole year very, very happy if I get fifteen reviews.

* * *

Please


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you all so very, very much for your sweet reviews on the last chapter! My birthday has been absolutely wonderful, (in good part to you guy's wonderful support).

Big hugs all around especially to: Ss, , Yakuit, Narijima, LionAndTheLambLove7, Nobody Special, Just A Reader, 1world-traveler, Armonokaitaya Dragon Heart, Julie.28, Animalcharmer, Firestarter, and TwiLifeCrisis

Thank you all so much, it never fails to bring a huge smile to my face when I read reviews. Keep it up, dearest, most awesome readers in the universe!

Anyways, I'd better let you all get on to the story before you get out your pitchforks.

Note: All locations are, to my knowledge, fictional. (Well, okay so the mountain is there but… no idea if the cliff exists…)

I, as unfortunate as it seems, do not own the rights to any of Ms. Brigg's characters.

Enjoy ;D

* * *

Samuel pulled onto the freeway, heading north towards Seattle.

After a while he found himself turning off the freeway and onto a smaller highway. The road that he had turned off onto would still get him to Seattle; it would just take a little bit longer. He wasn't sure why he was going this way.

* * *

Varius was about an hour from Seattle when his phone rang. He picked it up.

"Yeah."

"Do you have her?"

"No. She jumped off a cliff."

There was an annoyed snarl from the other end of the line. "Are you sure that she's dead?"

"Yeah."

The other man said a very nasty word. "Bring me the body."

Varius hesitated. "A dead body is going to be a little hard to get through security at the airport."

"Then drive." The man snarled. "It's not like I'm not paying enough."

"Yes sir." Varius said and hung up. He glared at the annoying little device that caused him so much trouble. Life used to be so much easier. He growled and pulled an illegal U-turn in the middle of the street. Other drivers honked at him and yelled. He flipped them off and started back to find the mutt's body. If she hadn't jumped out the window she would have saved him a lot of trouble. What the heck did he want with her body anyway?

* * *

It was evening by the time Samuel's instincts told him to stop. He pulled to the side of the road and look carefully around at his surroundings.

On one side there was deep woods, already growing dark under the thick foliage.

On the other there was a cliff with a snow water run-off river at the bottom, rushing coldly away from the road.

His eyes stopped on an irregular dent in the guardrail. It was in the wrong spot to have been made by a car or truck and it was too small for any vehicular accident that he could think of. He got out of his car and walked over to it to investigate.

It looked like… He punched the metal next to the dent. They were a pretty close match.

Samuel swore softly and looked over the side, guessing the obvious.

It was unlikely that she would have survived the fall, but he had to try. _And if she didn't,_ he added quietly to himself, _at least there's a river handy._ He didn't think that he could handle loosing yet another… _Mate._

He climbed back into his car, turning around and going back to a spot he had passed not too far back. He pulled into the small gravel parking lot and turned his car off.

The trail that led away from the parking lot led in the right direction. Samuel opened the back of his car and got out the bag that he kept there with medical supplies, a few small blankets, a change of clothes, some emergency rations, and the like.

He closed and locked his car out of habit and looked around cautiously before starting down the trail, unsure of what he would find.

After a while the trail briefly met up with the riverbank then veered away again. Samuel continued walking along the river, searching for any sign that the small coyote was alive.

* * *

Kai slowly became aware. She was cold. She couldn't feel her legs at all. She could hear water lapping against something somewhere nearby.

It took her a while but she managed to open her eyes. Everything was blurry. She blinked a few times, the haze slowly fading away. She tried to make sense of what she was seeing. There were lots of trees and bushes. No houses in sight so she wasn't at Jake's house. Was she?

There seemed to be water between her and the bushes but the couldn't be right. And everything was moving.

Not quickly, but it was definitely moving. Was there some sort of odd earthquake going on?

She looked down at herself to assess how badly she was damaged this time. Ah. That would explain the cold, sound of water, and movement. She was floating in the water. She looked back to the shore. It looked like an awfully long ways. She painfully turned her head so that she could look at the other bank.

No, that one was even further. She slowly began to swim towards the shore.

When she finally reached it she hauled herself onto the bank, gasping for air. Her sides hurt and her wounded leg was on fire. She slowly limped all the way out of the water, the cold fluid dripping off her, her paws numb. She licked her chest fur a few times, trying to get warmed up a little. All she got was a mouthful of river water, mud, and fur. She shivered.

She looked around, somewhat dazed. Suddenly she spotted a cougar on top of a rock. She yelped and scrambled to get away from it. Her paws slipped in the mud and she fell to her side. Her world went white as blinding pain exploded behind her eyes.

After it receded to a red throbbing she opened her eyes again. She looked around franticly for the cougar but there was no sign that anything had ever even been there.

She managed to get to her feet again. She moved away from the water to where the dirt wasn't so slippery. She limped downriver, not putting any weight on her injured leg and having no idea where she was or where she was going.

How had she gotten here? She had been at Jake's house and… She looked down at her chest. She was wearing her harness. So it hadn't been a really bad dream after all. She should have thought to look before she jumped out the window.

A dull stab of pain in her right front paw brought her attention back to where she was. She must have stepped on a thorn. She noted dully that she was walking through a patch of briars. She watched carefully where she set each of her paws.

She wasn't sure how long she went on like that or how long she had been unconscious in the river but when she looked up again from her feet it was fully dark. She had wondered why it had been so hard to see her feet.

She gazed around into the darkness surrounding her, looking for somewhere that she could lie down. She spotted a likely looking bush and hobbled over to it. She eased herself down under it, trying not to let anything touch her side, hind leg or front paw. Her head hurt now too. She hadn't known that she could have a migraine in coyote form.

She closed her eyes, falling into a fitful sleep.

* * *

After a while of walking without seeing anything of interest to him, Samuel came across a spot on the muddy bank where something had crawled out.

He found a few readable tracks. It was coyote sized and not many other coyotes were probably taking swims here. Besides, he could smell that it was Kai. She had been scared. He followed her trail, picking up his pace as he found a few spots of blood.

Her tracks led through a briar patch and one of her paws was bleeding when she came out the other side.

Darkness fell and Samuel kept going, following her scent now.

After a while he stopped for a moment, listening. He could hear labored breathing. He carefully scented the air. It only confirmed his fear that it was Kai's breathing that he was hearing.

He cautiously walked closer to the sleeping Kai. There was a bush in front of him. He crouched down and looked under the branches. His heart warmed slightly at the sight of her. He moved closer to her and gently touched her fur. It was cold and damp. He ran his hands gently across her shoulders and front legs, checking to make sure nothing was broken. He pulled the thorn out of her paw. Suddenly Kai startled and opened her eyes.

* * *

Cold. She was cold. There was something warm around her paw though. Her nose wasn't working very well but she could hear something breathing right in front of her. She drew in a deep breath, trying to scent who or what it was. Sharp pain in her side stopped her mid-breath. She opened her eyes.

It was dark and all she could make out was a shadow looming over her, slightly darker than everything else.

She bolted to her feet and the figure reached his hands toward her. Her ears buzzed as she stood up far too fast and she almost collapsed. His fingertips brushed against her fur and she fled, disoriented.

With blood flowing through her as adrenaline took over she quickly got too hot. She ran as fast as she could, limping badly as she did so. She didn't see what was in front of her, only just managing to avoid trees as they seemed to appear right in front of her.

Horrible, snarling creatures confronted her at every turn.

She labored for breath. Hearing footsteps behind her, she struggled to move faster. The pain in her ribs intensified even more and she let out an involuntary yelp as she forgot for a moment that her leg was wounded and tried to put her weight on it.

She couldn't go on much farther. A snarling cougar seemed to form in the darkness in front of her and she veered off to the side. She tripped over a root and fell heavily to the ground.

* * *

Samuel reached out to her, talking to her gently to reassure her. He didn't want her to be frightened.

"Hush. Easy Kai. Its all right, I'm not gonna hurt you."

She backed away from him, her eyes wide and frightened. He gently touched her fur, wanting to hold her close and tell her that it was all going to be okay.

She turned and ran, limping and not putting any weight on her hind leg. He fought to control his wolf as it snarled and growled at the sight of his _Mate_ running from him in fear. He had to stop her from hurting herself more, had to protect her from the people that wanted to hurt her and take her from him. He had to make her see that she belonged with him before some other male stole her away.

Samuel staggered to his feet, moving away from Kai. The _last_ thing he wanted to do was to hurt her. He wouldn't force her into anything.

The wolf suddenly quieted, agreeing. He wouldn't hurt or force her. Samuel found himself unable to control the Change and his body began to morph painfully into Wolf form.

When the change was complete, he began following her, not too fast. He didn't want to catch up with her too soon and startle her or make her do anything that would hurt her more or scare her.

* * *

AN: I was going to have it be an alternate ending that she actually dies, but it didn't quite turn out that way as I was writing it, but know that I was _definitely_ thinking about it :D

I'm still not quite to fifteen on the last chapter so if anyone else wants to review that one still… 3

Pretty please…


	10. Chapter 10

Ha well, it took far longer than I expected it to, and I'm very sorry for that. I really do need to be better about updating this… I'll be out of town for a month and I'm not sure whether or not I'll have lots of time to work on more or no time at all, so we'll see. Don't you just love family 'vacations'?

Thank you so much to all of you absolutely awesomesauce people that have read and/or reviewed. Big hugs.

Special thanks to Kimi24, LionAndTheLambLove7, Nobody Special, Armonokiataya Dragon Heart, Moron, Narijima, Yakuit, Anaea, , Maelys, StillWaiting, Sir Prize, Someone, and Lilystarz for their uplifting words. You guys will never know how much you praise means to me 3

Yes, I'm quite pleased at how this is all turning out. Chapter length could be improved but… Oh well.

_**Tell me what you want to see happen!**_ I will take you ideas into consideration, just drop me a review ;)

I am so sorry if the time jumps don't make any sense, just tell me if they don't and I'll try to fix it. Lots of perspective changes...

Anyways, without further adieu, enjoy the story…

* * *

Kai ran, or rather stumbled, her way through the trees, weaving and staggering painfully. Her mind stopped working and it became too dark for her to see through her fever-clouded eyes. She attempted to struggle through a bush and found herself stuck and unable to thrash her way through. She was trapped and defenseless. The adrenaline rushing through her faded and her eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

_She was warm, floating in a lovely chocolate river. She stretched out and floated on her back in the gentle current, the warm chocolate flowing around her. Death by chocolate would be a good way to go but she'd rather not die by falling asleep in a chocolate river. She luxuriously and slowly swam her way over to the bank, slithering her way out of the liquid chocolate. It still covered her skin so she laid down on the soft bank, relaxing in the sunshine. Her wolf came over and began to gently lick the chocolate off her warm skin. He was so tender and sweet, sweeter than the chocolate, and that was saying something. Wait…her wolf?_ She opened her eyes. There was a huge, white wolf licking her stomach. Kai tried to push him away and sit up but it didn't work. Instead, her paws… Ah. Paws. That could do it.

Kai attempted to crawl out from under the huge wolf but he stopped her with a massive paw on her chest. He lifted his lip, revealing one sharp canine tooth in a silent warning to stay still.

He was going to eat her! Kai closed her eyes tightly as his head dipped down towards her throat. Her thoughts in her last few moments of life were, _If only Samuel were here. He'd save…_ Kai stopped whining and opened her eyes, looking up at the wolf.

Ice blue eyes stared into hers. Thank God.

Kai whapped her tail and licked his muzzle. He blinked down at her and then licked her cheek tenderly. Kai realized that she had just, basically, kissed Samuel. If coyotes could blush…

* * *

Samuel had found her stuck in a bush and carefully pulled the braches away from her unconscious form. He gripped her scruff gently and pulled her out of the entangling limbs. She was cold. He laid her down and began to lick her chest and belly to get more blood flowing and warm her up.

After a few minutes she tensed and opened her eyes. She made some sort of odd movement then attempted to maneuver out from under him. His wolf protested strongly and he stopped her with a paw on her chest. He didn't really mean to but his lip lifted and he almost growled at her to stay put. He dipped his head down to begin licking her again but paused as she shut her eyes and whined. She opened her eyes again after a moment and licked his muzzle, whapping her tail. He was really not expecting it but he would take whatever she gave him. He licked her face and she struggled gently again, stopping abruptly with a pained noise. Samuel removed his paw and gently nosed her ribs. She whimpered and shifted so that she was on one side instead on flat on her back.

He had hitherto ignore the scent, trying to get her warm and awake first, but now he had to see if there was anything he could do for her infection. He nosed her leg and she whined again. He licked her hip reassuringly and she quieted.

He licked the wound in her leg clean and moved to her paw that had had the thorn in it. She moved her foot away from him and rolled onto her stomach, licking her paw herself. Samuel surprised himself by growling at her and pushing her head away from her injured paw. She stared at him as he cleaned her paw but he pretended not to notice.

* * *

Varius stopped by the guardrail where he had hit it, snarling quietly when he saw that there was an almost identical dent next to it. He hadn't seen a car on the shoulder yet so he continued driving. Soon he came to a small parking lot with a Mercedes parked in it. He parked on the other side of the small lot and got out.

The other car belonged to the Werewolf that was looking for the girl too. His eyes narrowed and he slipped, wraith-like, to the trail. He started down it in the brush alongside, listening carefully to the birds and other small animals chattering for any indication of where the other Were was.

He ignored the quickly approaching dusk, stalking the Werewolf's scent trail from the bushes alongside the river now.

* * *

Samuel finished washing Kai and lay down next to her. She shifted so that she was leaning against him and sighed happily. Samuel licked her between the ears and rested his chin on top of her head, letting his eyes slid closed. Kai was already asleep.

Samuel allowed himself to doze off, though he was still alert to any noise that might alert him to danger.

As the first few rays of light struck the sky, signaling the new day, the birds began to chirrup their usual happy morning songs. Kai's ears flicked back and she growled slightly in her sleep, annoyed at the disturbance. Samuel woke instantly as she growled, looking around carefully. There was nothing that he could see that might endanger his coyote. He rested his head down again and the birds to the west called out a warning to their fellows before falling silent.

Samuel rose to his feet softly, not disturbing Kai. She needed to sleep and heal. Her wounds wouldn't fade as fast as a werewolf's would. He crouched over her, ready to protect her from whatever was coming. Samuel listened carefully and soon heard the tell tale signs of small animals hiding from a predator, alerted by the birds.

There was no scent for him to catch but at least the breeze was lowing to the side instead of carrying their scents right to whatever was coming. Samuel thought that it was probably the Were-cat, back to finish the job of killing or taking Kai.

Kai stirred and Samuel licked her cheek reassuringly, never taking his eyes off the bushes screening them from view on the western side. She settled down again, her sleeping self wholly content just to know that he was there. The bushes rustled and Samuel's hackles went up, a low growl beginning deep in his chest.

* * *

Varius stayed hidden alongside the wolf's trail, even though it had been quite a while since the wolf had passed this way. To amuse himself, he identified the trees and bushes by scent before he passed them. Juniper, fir, huckleberry, rowan, wild-blackberry, pine, spruce, cedar.

The wolf had caught up with the girl here. Varius allowed himself a rare low chuckle. The coyote had run, or rather limped, off, scared out of her wits. The poor wolf hadn't been able to stand it and had changed.

Varius went forward with much more caution and attention to the tiniest of details. A werewolf in wolf form was even more dangerous than a human werewolf.

He slowly worked his way along the trail, stopping and listening at intervals in case the wolf was doubling back. There was nothing.

Around dawn, the birds began to wake and Varius cursed mentally. The daylight creatures were far too noisy about predators.

Sure enough, as soon as they spotted him they called out warnings and then fell silent. In the forest, silence was a bad thing. He glared up at the birds. The wolf knew where he was now. All Varius had to do was decide what he wanted to do about it.

He continued forward.

Before long he could hear two sets of breath, which also meant that the wolf could hear him as well. But maybe he would get lucky and the wolf would be asleep.

Varius crept around the last bush and saw that no such thing was likely to happen. The wolf, a huge white wolf with pale, almost white eyes, was watching him, his hackles up, and a growl forming deep down.

The wolf stood over the coyote's sleeping form protectively. Varius sighed. He really did have things that he'd rather be doing than risking his life to abduct some coyote. But he needed the money.

"Look wolf, I need to get going with my coyote, so if you could just…"

The wolf snarled when he called the girl 'his.' Varius cocked his head a little to one side.

"Mine." He said again. The wolf leapt on him

* * *

Under normal circumstances Samuel wouldn't have lost his temper but he was talking about Kai, his mate. It might only be one sided but Samuel's wolf had chosen her. She was _his_. He leapt on the other Were, biting into his flesh viciously. The man drew a knife and the fight began.

* * *

Neither combatant wanted to injure the sleeping girl, or wake her yet so they moved the fight a ways away, sparing as they did.

Varius didn't Change, though he would have liked to. This wasn't a movie and the wolf would probably attack him at his most vulnerable even if it wasn't very sporting.

The air was filled with growls and snarls, human, feline, and wolf. Clumps of white fur were scattered around the area, sliced off by the sharp blade that the Varius held.

It was a hard fight and both fought well. Both men had something they cared about at stake, though one definitely more so than the other.

Despite the fact that both were incredibly strong, eventually their stamina began to fade.

They backed off from each other, eyes still locked on the opponent, both bleeding and breathing hard.

Varius began to slowly back away from the wolf. He was still fully capable of fighting more and they both knew it but he didn't like to tire himself too far and risk loosing his life because he was too exhausted.

"Well wolf, we'll call this one a victory for you, eh? I'll be back for the girl though. Don't get too comfortable; I'll be watching you from the shadows. I'll be back." Varius said with narrowed eyes, before slipping away into the undergrowth.

Samuel resisted the urge to give chase. He would return to Kai and make sure that she was safe. None of his cuts were too bad and they would all heal fairly quickly.

Samuel trotted quickly back to the small clearing where he had left Kai, pausing just outside the concealing bushes to lick the blood out of his fur around his scabbed over cuts. There was no reason for her to know about the fight or the danger that the other Were would return. Let her feel safe with him for a while, she had been through enough for a girl her age and he would have bet anything that he didn't even know half of what she had been through.

Once all traces of blood were out of his white coat he walked the last few steps through the bushes and heard the sounds of someone fleeing through the bushes on the opposite side from him.

He followed Kai, soon getting her back in sight again but not wanting her to feel like he was chasing her. She glanced back, wild-eyed, her gaze passing right over him, looking for something. Samuel scented the air and realized that during the fight the wind must have shifted because he could smell the lingering scents of blood and the Were-cat on the breeze.

He didn't have any way to tell Kai that it was all right either. He would just have to wait until she stopped.

* * *

Well, I adore reviews so… click right there… \/ there :) … Please…


	11. Chapter 11

Well, I managed to write this one pretty fast :D You should all be very proud and review ;)

Well, anyways, as usual hunormous thanks to the people that have reviewed the last chapter so far, Anaea, LionAndTheLambLove7, Someone, TwilifeCrisis, and Maelys.

'Someone' (you know who you are…) thank you so much for the great idea. I had planed to do something of the sort but your review helped me be able to make it much longer ;)

And to the rest of you as well, big thanks and I'm very glad that it made sense…

Enjoy!

* * *

The Were had come back for her. He wanted to take her back _there_ and she couldn't allow that. She would never go back. Which was probably no surprise to anyone. Who would willing go to her death? She could smell the Were-cat's scent on the wind and ran. There was blood too, and Samuel, but she had to get away from the feline.

She looked back over her shoulder, relieved to see Samuel following her at a distance but couldn't see any sign of the cat. It was _never_ a good thing when they were out of sight. It was usually bad when they were in sight too but…

In the initial burst of energy that she'd had when she first scented the man, she hadn't paid any attention to the pain but now she could feel the fire in her side as she breathed and the harsh stabbing every time she rested weight on her leg. Her paw was still sore too, though Samuel's ministrations had done wonders. She looked back again and stopped. Samuel stopped as well, giving her space. He was on an area of rock that she had just run across and his white fur was resplendent in the early morning light, the mist swirling around him. He looked utterly mythical. And here she was running away from him. Her head lowered a bit and she began to slowly walk back to Samuel.

* * *

Something inside Samuel loosened in relief as she started back toward him again and he began the Change back to human so he could hold her when she reached him. She hesitated briefly but didn't stop. Samuel could Shift fairly fast, about as fast as Shifts go with the exception of Charles, Mercy, and Kai. Though Mercy and Kai didn't really count.

By the time she reached him, he was human. His skin was still tender from the Change but he didn't care. He knelt and pulled Kai against his chest, holding her close. She shivered a little and attempted, weakly to pull away but he refused to let her go. She was Mate and she would trust him.

* * *

Kai shivered in his arms as he pulled her firmly against his chest, her side protesting and she struggled to pull away but that only hurt worse. She caught a glimpse of his eyes, wolf light and decided that it was probably the lesser of two evils to stay still. Besides, he was warm, though there wasn't really any way that he could hold her without putting pressure on her side. Without really thinking too much she Shifted in his arms, his grip changing to hold her more comfortably. She closed her eyes, resting her head against his strong chest as she relaxed against him. He rested his chin lightly on the top of her head and she remembered vaguely that he had done that earlier too. She sighed contentedly.

She wasn't sure why she was so comfortable with Samuel when she didn't really like anyone else, especially Weres, but she, for some un-logical reason felt safe with him. Especially, she soon realized, when he was holding her. She smiled at the revelation.

"You're safe," He crooned to her softly, the vibration traveling through him and into her bones, or so it seemed to Kai.

"I won't let anyone hurt you again." He said and she lifted her head, nuzzling his chin.

"I know." She whispered. She was terrified that this was a dream too. She would never be this bold if she were awake.

* * *

Samuel continued to hold her for a few minutes and, just as she started getting uncomfortable, now remembering that when she Shifted she no longer had fur, he released her.

"Kai, I want to see how badly you're hurt." He said, his tone making it a question. Kai blushed but he _was_ a doctor… She nodded.

Samuel had her lay across his legs, her back visible to him and his body protecting the majority of her skin from the cold ground.

He started at the nape of her neck, running his hands firmly across her skin.

"Tell me if anything hurts." He said quietly.

When Samuel got to her ribs she hissed lightly in pain. Samuel stopped and his hands gentled.

"Which side?" He asked, his voice as soft as his touch.

"Left." Kai said, gritting her teeth in anticipation of another touch. She half expected him to hit her.

Samuel's hands ghosted over her ribs and he gently turned her onto her right side, giving himself better access to her injured ribs. She looked up at his face, watching as his eyes faded to wolf hue again. Kai tensed a little and he looked at her face, growling slightly. Suddenly he broke off, his expression changing slightly.

"I might be able to help you." He told her, somewhat vaguely. She assumed that he was referring to her wounds, though something told her not to trust him. A larger part of her argued that he'd had plenty of chances to hurt her already and hadn't. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her now her now either.

"I'm not sure how much it will help. Kaliska, do you give your consent?"

Kai wasn't sure why he sounded so formal all of a sudden but she would trust him. She nodded solemnly.

"I do." She said softly. A small, satisfied smile crossed Samuel's face. He bit his arm and pulled Kai upright gently, pulling her against his chest. He slipped something into her mouth.

Kai was watching Samuel's eyes, waiting for the other Samuel to come back. The human one. The one she couldn't trust as much. Without thinking about it, she swallowed the scrap of bloody meat that he had pressed into her mouth.

"From this day forward, mine to me and mine. Pack." He said with a hint of triumph in his voice, resting his forehead against hers.

Kai wasn't sure why she did, but she replied, "Yours to you, mine to me." It felt right.

Magic burned through her and Kai slid her arms around Samuel's neck, wincing a little at the strangeness of it. She could feel Samuel all around her.

Slowly, the magic faded some, though it was still there. Samuel kissed her tenderly and stood up, holding her bridal style.

Kai closed her eyes and let the magic flow through her freely. She wondered vaguely what Samuel had done. Whatever it was, she decided that she liked it.

* * *

Samuel slowly regained control. His wolf side had never blocked him out like that before. Kai's arms were around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing peacefully. He hoped that he hadn't done anything to permanent too her. He thought, for a moment that he could _feel_ her there, intimately close to his heart, but then it was gone. He must have imagined it.

Throughout the events of the night they were actually quite close to where he had first caught up to Kai. When he reached the spot he stopped. Kai opened her eyes, obviously not asleep as he had thought she was. She looked into his eyes and tensed slightly, struggling a little. He set her gently on her feet and retrieved his clothes, which he had removed before his change and tugged on his jeans. Kai, he noted, was looking away, back where they had just come from, her expression revealing that she was acutely uncomfortable. She crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously and he handed her his shirt. She slipped into it, grateful that t cam down to the middle of her thighs. She shot Samuel a mostly-forced smile as he slipped his feet into his shoes and stuck his socks into the bag that he'd brought with him earlier. He slung the strap of the bag over his shoulder and scooped Kai into his arms again before she could protest. She squeaked a little as he held her bridal style again but didn't fight him, for which he was thankful. Obviously whatever had transpired while his wolf was in complete control hadn't been _too_ bad. Kai settled against him and closed her eyes as he set off towards his car.

* * *

When they got to the parking lot Samuel stopped, carefully scenting the air. There were no other cars in the lot but he could smell that the other Were had been here. Kai tensed and pressed her face against Samuel's chest, obviously seeking reassurance. Samuel pulled her a little tighter against himself comfortingly.

He walked to his car and set her down gently on her feet next to it. H found his keys in the bag and unlocked the car. He put the bag in the trunk and moved to pick Kai up again to take her around to the passenger side but she stepped away from him.

He stilled instantly, not wanting to frighten her.

"Mind if I ride in back?" She asked quietly, looking at the ground.

Samuel studied her for a long moment, noticing that she was resting her weight evenly on both her legs. He dropped to one knee, moving the bottom of his shirt out of the way so he could see her bullet wound, forgetting momentarily how skittish she was.

Kai tensed a little but Samuel wouldn't hurt her so she stayed still.

To Samuel's surprise, Kai's bullet wound was mostly healed, looking like it was several months old instead of two days. He frowned, unsure now what had happened earlier between her and his wolf. He couldn't think of a way that this should have happened.

* * *

Kai watched Samuel as he examined her leg. She should be more uncomfortable around him, she knew but she couldn't bring herself _not_ to trust him.

She had, of course, already noticed that her wounds were mostly healed. After the magic from whatever he had done had receded some she had realized that her ribs didn't hurt any more, they were still tender but there was little pain and she could breathe more freely. Her leg was almost healed too, as was her hand where she'd gotten the thorn in her paw.

Samuel got to his feet slowly, his hands moving to her hips.

"Kai, you can ride wherever you want." He told her, his eyes lightening. Her faint blush told him that she had picked up his double meaning perfectly. He really hadn't meant to say that.

Kai looked up into Samuel's eyes, reassured to see mostly wolf. The wolf wouldn't try to do anything to her without her consent. She shook her head slightly and stepped away from him again. He let her go.

She opened the back door and slipped onto the seat behind the driver's seat, Samuel closing the door behind her.

Samuel got into the car and pulled out onto the road, starting the drive back to the Tri-cities.

* * *

A while later Samuel heard Kai shift in her seat and felt her lean against his chair. Her hands draped themselves over his shoulders. Samuel smiled, his heart warm. For the first time in a very long while, he felt content. Truly content.

* * *

Please


	12. Chapter 12

Oh this chapter was fun. I hope you all enjoy it :)

Big 'thank you's to all of the people that reviewed the last chapter. UrbanFantasyParanormalRomance, Anaea, Armonokaitaya Dragon Heart, Lilystarz, Maelys, Someone, AnimalCharmer, LionAndTheLambLove7, 1World-Traveler, Strwberries14, and TwilifeCrisis have been sweet enough to do so thus far. I love hearing from you guys so much, thank you.

Anaea: Yeah, I know… but I'm going to attempt to keep it as mother friendly as long as possible ;)

Lilystarz: Yes I might go back and redo that part a bit but she was a little busy with the mate bond at the time…

Maelys: I believe I have addressed your question in the chapter but if you're still unclear let me know. :)

I am still looking for suggestions of what y'all would like to see done next…

Dun dun dun… anyways, Enjoy!

* * *

Kai woke when they were crossing into Kennewick. She drowsily opened her eyes and found herself leaning forward against the drivers seat with her hands on Sam's shoulders. A small, happy smile flitted across her face and she began to massage Samuel's neck. He relaxed a little and hummed in appreciation. Her mind wandered back to what had happened over the last few days as she massaged Sam.

He had saved her repeatedly from harm and he'd managed to do some magic thing that had left her mostly healed. She could still feel it if she felt for it. She did for a moment, exploring the strange sort of humming in her. After a few moments it got to be too strange and she pushed it away again. She wanted to ask him about what he had done but she wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"Kai?"

She looked at the back of his head, cocking her head to one side just a little. She met his eyes in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah?" She said, her voice a little course with sleep.

"Do you… Have you thought about my offer of a place to live? If not that's fine, I know you've been a little preoccupied lately."

Kai hesitated, but only for a moment. "Yeah, I've thought about it." She told him, her mind not quite functioning all the way yet, the smart half still asleep.

Samuel, to his credit, waited a whole five minutes as she continued to rub his neck and shoulders. "Have you made up your mind?" He asked finally.

Kai blinked. "Oh. Sorry. Yes, I'd love to stay with you for a while."

Samuel growled faintly and Kai's fingers paused. He stopped growling instantly, feeling her pause. One of his hands came up to lightly cover hers reassuringly.

"I- Good. I'm glad you'll stay. I looked at a house a few days ago that might work. Do you want to go see it later?"

Kai stared at him. "What? You want me to help you buy a house?"

"No, just help me pick one out."

Kai was fairly sure that her mouth was open and she was staring at him in shock but she didn't care. He wanted her help picking out a house.

Samuel sighed softly. "Look Kai, I have plenty of money you know. I'm a doctor and I've been around for a few years. I would like your help finding a suitable house though. I'm guessing that you have more similar tastes than anyone else I know in the area and I need a second opinion."

Kai nodded slowly. "O-okay." She said, still not really sure what he expected of her.

"Nothing Kai, honest. Just come with me and take a look." He said. She wasn't really sure what he was talking about but she let it pass.

A little bit later Samuel stopped at Mercy's house and opened Kai's door, scooping her up into his arms again.

Kai struggled. "No, put me down, I can walk." She protested.

Samuel looked down at her, amused and not bothering to hide it. "Kai, if I put you down you risk hurting your feet. I don't want you to hurt yourself. I'm carrying you into the house, doctor's orders."

Kai sighed and went limp. "Fine. Be that way then." She muttered balefully. Samuel pretended that he couldn't hear her.

He opened the door to the house and stepped inside, setting Kai gently on her feet. He took her hand and led her to his room. She searched his face for something and seemed to find it.

Samuel gestured to the clothes on the bed that she had worn last time she'd been there. "Are those alright or do you want me to find something else of Mercy's for you to wear?"

"Those are fine." Kai wasn't really picky about fashion. She looked pointedly at him as he closed the door. He turned gentle eyes to her.

"Go ahead and get dressed. I won't watch. Promise."

Kai continued to look at him pointedly. Her gaze shifted to the door. He ignored her and sat down on the bed with his back to her.

"Kai, last time I let you out of my sight you were very badly injured. I refuse to let you get hurt again until you're healed from the last time."

Kai sighed and quickly began to get dressed, her face heating at the memory of their time in the woods. She had been too busy with the magic thing to really think about it at all at the time.

Once she was dressed she tapped Samuel on the shoulder. He smiled at her and pulled a shirt out of one of his drawers and tugged it on. He glanced at the clock.

"Come on, lets see if Mercy's shoes will fit or not and then I'll take you out to lunch."

* * *

They managed to find a pair of Mercy's shoes that fit okay, a pair of half-dressy half-casual sandals. Kai allowed Sam to get the car door for her, rolling her eyes slightly. She sat in front this time and he walked back around to the driver's side and drove her to a nice little café. He ordered lunch for both of them and they turned to Kai.

"Why is there a were-cat after you." He asked quietly.

Kai looked at him, startled by the sudden question. No beating around the bush there.

She hesitated, pondering what to say. Finally, she decided that she owed him the truth.

"My mother didn't want to have a kid in the first place, much less one that turned into a coyote," Kai started, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "She asked around a little bit and got in contact with a man who said he would be willing to take me off her hands. He was a were-leopard and his mate, a tigress, was a bit restless. I was something of a fun new toy for her to play with. 'Here honey, go beat up this nice little bitch I brought home for you…'" Kai paused and took a sip of water, drawing on the magic just a touch to comfort her. "A while later a new were came into town. He came to see the Master and the mistress was quite taken with him. He ended up staying around and him and the mistress…"

Kai hesitated and moved on with her tale without elaborating. Sam would be able to guess. "To get back at them, the Master started protecting me from them. He didn't make them stop all together but… Finally I saw a chance to get away and I took it. I suspect they didn't really like their little mutt getting away. Cats are funny that way about their prey."

Samuel was watching her, his face unreadable. Kai looked away and their food came.

After a while of silence Samuel spoke.

"Kai, was that Were that abducted you," Here he growled a little. "Was he the master or the other one?"

Kai finished chewing the bite that she had just taken and swallowed it before she answered.

"Neither actually. I'd never met him before we got acquainted at Jake's house."

* * *

After they finished lunch Samuel drove them the rest of the way to the house they were going to go see.

They got out of the car, Kai rushing to get out before Samuel was able to come and help her. She only just managed and he smirked at her a little. She glared playfully at him before turning her gaze to the house.

It looked unimposing enough from the front. It had a three-car garage with another room over it, the roof at a nice angle. The pale grayish green paint was nice and not gaudy like some of the other houses in the area. Samuel led her up the three steps to the door, which he opened. He ushered her inside, following close behind her. The door led into a nice entrance area, which opened onto a cozy dining room. Kai looked around through the various other doors and explored the house. It had two master bedrooms and three other, smaller bedrooms, and three and a half bathrooms.

She especially liked the kitchen area. It was in a big room with a high ceiling and there was another living area there too with a place to put a table and still have more than enough room for a nice couch setup. There was a set of stairs that led up to a wide hallway up at the high ceiling and there was a half wall so it was still open to the downstairs room but not visible. There was just one door at the end of the hall and she opened it curiously, Samuel still following. He was smiling a little now, guessing that she was going to like this next room.

The room was fairly large and she guessed that this must be the second of the two master suites. There was a big window and she looked out. It was the one over the garage. There was a large walk-in closet and the bathroom was very well done. The shower was big, enclosed with glass blocks in a corner and there was a bathtub too as well as two sinks and the usual other bathroom amenities.

Samuel was leaning against the doorframe looking pleased and she turned to him.

"Sam? How many people do you plan of living with?"

His eyes flashed light for a moment but then the wolf was gone again. He shrugged casually.

"Kai, dear, I don't know-"

Kai glowered at him. "I know its part of the meaning of my name and everything but I'm not prey, thank you very much."

Samuel stared at her for a moment before deciding to ignore her outburst and continue with what he had been saying.

"Probably just the two of us but someday one of us might want to have kids or something. Besides, it's a little harder to find a nice house with two bedrooms on acreage. There's two and a half acres here."

Something about what he had said wasn't setting quite right but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was. She shrugged.

"Well, it's a nice place, I like it. Even if it is _way_ too big for two people."

Samuel smiled. "Did I mention the hot tub?"

"No, you didn't." Kai said, giving him a strange look. How could he have neglected to mention the hot tub?

"There's a hot tub."

Kai nodded. "So I gathered. Show me?"

Samuel took a step towards her and scooped her up into his arms, ignoring her squeak of surprise, and carried her back downstairs. He opened the door that led outside from the kitchen/living room/dining room. He carried her over to a beautiful little gazebo thing and opened the door. Kai wasn't sure how he managed to hold her and open doors at the same time but he did it. Just as he had said, there was a hot tub. Kai put her arms around Samuel's neck in a more comfortable position. He seemed to enjoy carrying her bridal style.

Kai quickly ended that train of thought. He didn't mean anything by it.

Samuel carried her back up to the house and he took her around again, pointing out small features that she had missed the first time around.

Kai thought it was perfect. For a family. She liked it a lot and she would be fine living there but it still seemed big.

Samuel finally set her down again and let her stand on her own two feet and Kai resisted the urge to kiss him in gratitude. She didn't mind being carried sometimes but he seemed a little too protective sometimes.

Samuel got out his phone to call the realtor and Kai went back upstairs to the bedroom up there. She sat down in front of the window and watched the birds in the tree next to the house, listening to Samuel's voice downstairs, though not paying attention to the words.

She couldn't help but feel that there was something she was missing in this whole situation. After a bit she lay back on the soft white carpet and closed her eyes.

* * *

Samuel smiled as Kai went back up to the bedroom again. He was glad that she liked the house. He had been a little worried that he might loose her when he mentioned having kids earlier but she hadn't appeared to really notice. In this era she was just a kid herself and it felt wrong to think of her having kids of her own. He called the real estate agent and set up some things on the business end of it. His banker would take care of the rest and the house would officially be his by tomorrow afternoon.

He put his phone in his pocket, pleased with how this was turning out. He quietly went up the stairs to see what Kai was up to.

She was asleep on the floor in front of the window, laying in the pool of golden sunlight that was starting to fade as the day drew to a close. He stood there for several minutes, watching her before he went back down stairs.

He got out his phone again and dialed a very familiar number.

"Samuel." Bran greeted, picking up after the first ring.

"Da. I've found another Walker." Samuel said without preamble. Bran remained silent, waiting.

"I'm buying a house here in Kennewick too."

"Congratulations." Bran said warmly. "Does she know?"

"Yes and no. She's aware of the house."

"Ah. Good luck then. I'll want to meet her you know."

"I'll bring her to you as soon as she's ready Da."

The two said their farewells and Samuel hung up.

* * *

Kai woke and stretched, hearing Samuel's voice downstairs. He sounded a little different than he had earlier. She crept out into the hallway above him and listened carefully. A voice she didn't recognize asked if she knew. She wasn't quite sure what they were talking about but it was definitely about her. Samuel called the man Da. Was it his father then? She stood up and leaned against the half wall, looking down at Samuel as he tucked his phone back into his pocket.

"Does she know what?" She asked him. He looked up at her.

"Know that I'm taking you out to dinner." He said. She couldn't sense a lie but she didn't think he was telling her what they had been talking about. But then again, she was butting into his personal business.

* * *

Dinner was uneventful as was the drive back to Mercy's house.

Mercy, Adam, and another wolf were sitting on Mercy's porch, enjoying the night air and talking. Kai started to open her door before Samuel was out of the car and he growled at her, eyeing the werewolves on the porch. He got out and came around to her side of the car, opening the door for her. The other werewolf got to his feet casually as Kai and Samuel walked to them. She recognized him now as the wolf that had first chased her when she ran away. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. Adam said something to Samuel and he moved a little farther over towards Adam to have a comfortable conversation. The were took one of her hands and lifted it to his mouth, presumably for a kiss but she wasn't sure.

"Let go of me." She said, frightened of him. Samuel was to far to touch so she pulled the magic around her, comforting herself with Samuel's presence. The Were dropped her hand and took a step back. All eyes turned to Samuel in shock. Samuel's eyes would have turned to him as well but that would have been uncomfortable.

It certainly explained a lot of things, he reasoned then cursed himself mentally.

She had just called on their _Mate bond._ He turned to Adam and met his eyes firmly. It was his right to mate and he wouldn't stand for anyone to disapprove of his choice.

Ben looked like he had been burned. He dropped back down to sit on the porch next to Mercy, pointedly not looking at Kai.

Kai trembled. Was what she had done wrong somehow? Why were they looking at Samuel like that?

She took a small step back and Samuel's eyes turned to her. He took in her expression and swiftly closed the distance between them. He touched her cheek gently then wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

He looked at Adam, Mercy, and Ben.

"Some of us have had a long day. We're going to go in and sleep now."

Adam got to his feet and made room for Samuel to lead Kai past, stepping back so that she didn't have to pass too close to him.

Kai willingly let Sam lead her inside. He took her back to his room and got out one of his shirts for her to sleep in and locked the window. He slipped out of the room and closed it behind himself. She could hear that he was still standing right outside the door but she appreciated the space. She quickly changed into his shirt. She heard Mercy's, Adam's, and the other wolf's footsteps going back to Adam's house across the field. Kai opened the door and slipped past Samuel, going into the bathroom. She scrubbed at her teeth with her finger, wishing she had a toothbrush but if whishes were horses then beggars would ride. It would have to do. She went back to Sam's bedroom. He had turned the sheets back and he gestured for her to climb in bed. She did and he kissed her forehead before turning off the lights and closing the door behind himself. Kai listened as he went out to the living room and lay down on the couch. She frowned, feeling guilty for chasing him out of his bed. The magic seemed to grow and it soothed her worries. She fell asleep safe and secure with Samuel close by.

* * *

So I actually found this house (more or less) for sale in Richmond. It was really fun to go around to different sites looking for the right house. I know, the whole having it in his name by the next day is probably unrealistic but… who cares ;)

It's a really, really cute house. I'll see if I can find a way to put up a link to it or something on my profile.

Please


	13. Chapter 13

Yay, I love you guys! 100 reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Ha I'm in Mexico and so I wrote this all out on paper then I typed it up on the computer and my little eleven-year-old Mexican friend wanted to help me out. I felt so terrible, she was typing out parts of the first few pages and she had no idea whatsoever what she was typing out. It's not bad it's just that she could have been typing anything. Oh well.

Anyways, I'm having a very good time and shopping in a foreign country with my parents is a very… Ahem… plot filled experience… I think the fact they don't speak any Spanish makes it more interesting…

I am so very, very glad that everyone (as far as I know…) has enjoyed the last chapter; I hope this one's just as good :)

Big thank yous to Anaea, TwilifeCrisis, LionAndTheLambLove7, Maelys, Yakuit, Hello, . , Someone, Hi, IronsEngle, Sithspawn, Selese, D. S. Gltich, and Strawberries14 for reviewing the last chapter. My life would be so empty without you guys.

(Yes, if you don't give me a name I still thank you anyway.)

Wow Someone, how do you remember all these little details. You must really know the books well…

I am so, so happy that you're enjoying it so far, keep reviewing people!

Anyways, enjoy! (And yes, that's an order ;))

* * *

_She huddled in the corner, cowering back from Jed, the youngest and weakest, though not by far, of the Weres as he towered over her. The Mistress watched from her perch on the back of the couch on the other side of the room, purring. She liked to watch Jed hurt things. Jed drew back his hand to strike Kai. _

She woke just as his hand was about to connect with her face. She sat up slowly, clutching a Samuel scented pillow to her chest. She shivered and gently touched her face; just to be sure that it had been a dream this time.

She slipped out of bed and quietly made her way to where Samuel was. He was sitting up on the couch, alert to her soft footfalls.

Kai didn't say a word, she just settled onto his lap, burying her face in his shoulder, her arms slipping around behind him. Samuel's strong arms locked around her and he rested his chin on top of her head.

"Bad dream?" He inquired softly.

Kai nodded.

Sam's breath waffled her hair. He rearranged them so that she was lying on top of him on the couch. Kai relaxed against Samuel, her eyes fluttering closed again.

After a bit, Samuel carefully got up and carried his sleeping Walker back to his bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and moved to step back but she murmured in her sleep and clutched at his shirt. Samuel studied her for a moment and lay down next to her, pulling a blanket over her so she wouldn't get chilled. He gently placed his arms around her again as she cuddled closer to him. He relaxed and allowed himself to doze off.

* * *

She felt so safe and warm again. She opened her eyes to find Samuel awake and watching her. For some reason she wasn't creped out, though she thought that perhaps she should be.

"Morning." She mumbled sleepily. His eyes were just a touch lighter than normal.

Samuel smiled at her.

"Good morning." He said. He sounded like he meant it too.

"'Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?'" Kai asked with a sleepy smile.

"'All of them at once.'" Samuel chuckled and kissed her forehead gently. A faint blush rose to Kai's cheeks and she ducked her head down against his chest a little sheepishly.

"Tolkien huh?" He said, his voice rumbling through Kai. She hummed slightly, trying to match the vibration.

Samuel growled playfully, making Kai giggle. He propped himself up on one elbow, leaning partway over her. He nipped at her ear and she squeaked, still laughing. She pushed feebly at his shoulders, laughing and squirming as he nipped gently at ticklish spots on her neck. He paused and drew back so he could see her face. He searched her eyes for something and seemed satisfied. Kai sighed softly and closed her eyes. In a moment she felt a warm, soft mouth against hers. His lips moved gently against her mouth, his tongue gliding across her lower lip. Kai whimpered and opened her mouth slightly.

Samuel forced himself to kiss her gently and not do anything else. She didn't trust him enough yet for anything more. He did his best to ignore Hauptman's vehicle approaching. He did pull away though when it stopped in the driveway. Samuel got up and went to the door to intercept Mercy and/or Adam.

Kai blinked and tried to clear her head after Samuel left her. At first she was confused as to why he had gone but she heard a car door close. Damn, he was a good kisser. Not that she had anything to compare it to but still.

Kai got up and slipped into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her and listening to Samuel talking to Mercy.

"She's asleep." Samuel said. Did he sound almost… _cold?_

"Oh. Well Jesse and I thought that she might want to go out and do some shopping."

There was definitely an undercurrent of some sort, Kai decided.

"I'll pass that on when she's awake."

Mercy sighed. "Samuel, this is _my_ house, let me in. I refuse to talk to you while I'm standing on the porch."

There was a moment of silence before Mercy's footsteps entered the house. Kai straightened her clothes and decided that there was nothing that she could do about the thoroughly kissed look of her mouth. She shrugged to herself and opened the bathroom door, going out and peering around Samuel, who made a much better door than window and was blocking her view of Mercy.

Kai's hand settled on Sam's back and she waved at Mercy with a happy smile.

"Morning Mercy."

"Good morning Kai. Jesse and I wondered if you wanted to go shopping." Mercy said with a smile.

Kai looked at Samuel who shrugged, indicating that it was up to her.

"Jesse is Mercy's stepdaughter." He clarified, giving Mercy a mildly chiding look. Kai shot Samuel a grateful smile, though she still hesitated. Samuel studied her expression.

"Excuse us for a moment." He said to Mercy, taking Kai's arm and leading her back to his bedroom. He turned on a CD player and adjusted the volume, making their conversation more private.

"Kai, I am going to pay for your expenses until you're finished with school and have a god job." He told her firmly. "You need clothes and shoes at the _very_ least."

He took in her unchanged expression and sighed.

"You're not a burden. I'm a doctor and I've been saving for a few years now. Spend however much you want."

Kai remained unconvinced.

"I'll come to if that would make it easier." He said quietly, deliberately not adding that he would go one way or the other. That Were was still around somewhere, waiting to hurt her.

Kai glowered at him "Oh isn't that nice of you. Don't trust me on my own?" She asked with a bit of an edge to her words

Samuel hastily changed tactics.

"I trust you, I just don't want you to get too tired out shopping. If I go with you, Mercy and Jesse won't wear you out too badly."

Her frown deepened. "I don't need you to protect me. I've managed all right on my own for a long time now. I appreciate the thought but…" Her face softened and she sighed as Samuel gave her a dejected look.

"Fine, fine, you can come."

Samuel smirked and pulled her against him for a kiss. Kai leaned away from him and Samuel hesitated. Had he gone too far?

"Mercy's waiting for us…" Kai said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

Samuel sighed softly and released her. Kai stepped away from him and darted through the door, Samuel following at a slower pace.

"I would love to go shopping. When did you have in mind?" Kai asked Mercy.

Mercy gave her a strange look and glanced over the other coyote's shoulder at Samuel, trying to deduce what had transpired in the bedroom. Kai seemed a little out of sorts, not that Mercy had really been near the girl that much.

"Jesse and I are free all day. You wanna go now?"

Kai nodded. "Sure. Sam can come too, right?"

Mercy hesitated momentarily. "Of course. You need anything else from here before we go?"

Kai looked around. "No… not that I can think of…"

Samuel held up the pair of shoes they'd found that fit her.

"Oh. Right. I should probably wear those…"

Mercy chuckled and Kai plopped herself down on the couch to put the shoes on.

"What vehicle are you taking?" Samuel asked Mercy.

"I'm taking mine. You going to come separately?"

Samuel looked at Kai who shrugged.

"Yeah, Kai and I'll follow you in my car."

* * *

They drove to the mall nearby. Sam parked next to Mercy and got out, walking around and holding Kai's door for her. She heaved a theatric put-upon sigh and 'allowed' him to do so. She got out of the car and Sam tucked her arm through his, walking her gentlemanly toward the stores. Mercy and Jesse got out of Mercy's car and Kai got her first good look at the Alpha's daughter. The most striking thing about her, or at least the first thing anyone would notice, was the violent violet shade that her hair was dyed. Kai smiled shyly at the other girl and deliberately slowed her pace, forcing Samuel to slow down as well or let go of her. Samuel slowed and Mercy and Jesse caught up.

"So, you must be Kai." Jesse said, smiling at Kai.

Kai smiled back and nodded. "And you're Jesse Hauptman."

* * *

After Kai had an armload of things to try on she headed into the fitting rooms. Mercy had found a few tings to so she accompanied Kai. They went into separate stalls, Kai discreetly looking around to see if anyone else was in the room with them.

After trying on and modeling a few things for each other Kai decided to bring up the subject that had been bothering her all day.

"Mercy?"

"Mhmm?" Mercy replied, turning away from the mirror to look at Kai.

"Last night… Did I do something wrong?" Kai asked, her voice quiet. A flurry of emotions passed over Mercy's face. Shock, horror, and anger were the most discernable.

"I'm going to kill him. What is he thinking?" Mercy seethed to herself. Kai watched with wide eyes as Mercy started to pace.

After a moment Mercy sighed and her hands settled gently onto Kai's shoulders.

"I can't believe he didn't tell you. You have every right to know. I don't know how to put this so I'm just going to say it. You're Samuel's mate." Mercy searched the young Walker's face for fear, dislike, revulsion, or any like emotion.

A small humorless smile tugged at Kai's mouth.

"That's not funny Mercy." She chided

"No," Mercy said seriously, "it's not."

Kai's eyes widened and her pulse sped up. "B-but how can that be?" She took an unconscious step back, away from Mercy. "H-he's a Werewolf and I… I'm just a half-bred coyote mutt."

Mercy stared at her for a long moment. "Kai you're not-"

Samuel stepped into the room, his eyes blazing ice-pale. He moved between Mercy and Kai, growling faintly at Mercy.

Mercy slapped across the face and he recoiled from her, his eyes darkening a bit.

"I can't believe you Samuel. I'd thought that maybe you'd learned that you couldn't do this to young Walkers but apparently not. Do you have any idea what you've done to her?" Mercy hissed, raging at Samuel.

Samuel stared at Mercy for a moment then twisted around to look at Kai. The single tear at the corner of her eye made a far bigger impact than Mercy's slap had.

"Kai?" A hint of uncertainty crept into Samuel's voice as well as his face.

Kai watched Samuel with wide eyes. She looked so young and afraid. Of him. Samuel looked back at Mercy.

"What did you do to her? What did you say?" He asked quietly.

Mercy crossed her arms. "I told her what it was that set everyone on edge last night. Honestly Samuel, do you remember when she first met Adam? You should have told her." Mercy's eyes were accusing.

Samuel's jaw tightened a little and he looked back at Kai.

"I didn't realize myself what had happened until lat night. It didn't seem like a good time to throw something that big at you." He glanced at Mercy. "We do need to talk though. Sometime when we don't have an audience."

Kai nodded a bit hesitantly and retreated back into the dressing room stall. Mercy gave Samuel another deeply disappointed look and went into hers as well, closing the door firmly. Samuel went back out to see what Jesse was up to, carefully in control of himself, none of his emotions showing on his face or discernable to Kai through their mate bond.

* * *

Kai finished trying on the armload of clothes and put the ones that didn't fit on the rack for the store employees to put away. She looked uncertainly at the clothes she still held, unsure if Samuel would still buy them or not. She was so confused. How could the likes of her be mated to _Samuel_? And didn't you have to have sex to be mates? She started to put the rest of the clothes down too but Mercy came out of the fitting rooms and stopped her.

"Kai, you and Samuel need to talk but he's still buying you clothes."

Jesse spotted them and brought over a cart loaded with more clothes.

"Those are the ones that fit? Great. Here," Jesse lifted another armload out of the cart. "you put those in there and try these on."

Kai fought the urge to moan. She hated clothes shopping. Far too much trying things on. But she did as Jesse commanded and trudged back into the fitting rooms.

* * *

After a few hours of torture at the hands of Mercy and Jesse, Samuel finally saved Kai. His face was unreadable as he asked Kai if she wanted to go for a walk. Mercy opened her mouth to object but she took another look at Samuel's face and closed it again. His eyes were too world-weary for her liking and she suspected that Kai was the only one who could bring him out of it right now.

"Come on Jesse, let's go look at the hair stuff. How much do you think it would piss Adam off if I dyed my hair?"

Jesse grinned and led Mercy towards the hair section.

Kai twisted her hands nervously and Samuel moved to take her arm but he stopped himself.

Samuel led her to the cafeteria and ordered them both drinks. Kai sat down at a table and Sam took the seat opposite her.

Samuel stared broodingly into his drink for a few minutes then he looked up at Kai.

"What happened in the woods? I don't remember most of it until we got to the car."

Kai looked at him, startled. How could he not remember?

"Where do you want me to start?" She asked quietly.

"I left you in asleep in a little clearing and when I came back you ran. Start there."

Kai nodded, deciding to ignore the fact that he was being bossy. She was used to being bossed around and she knew how frustrating it was not to remember something important.

"I smelled the Were that abducted me so I ran. Instinct I suppose. You followed me for quite a ways, never to close but never far away either. After a bit I stopped and went back to you. You changed back and the way you held me hurt, so I changed too. You figured out that I had broken ribs," Kai skimmed a bit, uncomfortable with the topic. "then you did some sort of magical ceremony thing… It sort of healed me I think. It's still there. Is it our-" Kai couldn't quite bring herself to say it out loud.

"Anyways, then you carried me away." She concluded, not really giving him a chance to answer her half-spoken question.

Samuel nodded. "I remember the rest, thank you. Do you remember the words of the ceremony?"

Kai looked away. It all seemed like so long ago in a far away place. (AN: 'A long time ago in a place far, far away…' sorry, just ignore me…) Primitive. It had been surreal at the time and it was even more so now. She doubted that she would ever forget those words but there was no way she was going to sound like a lunatic uttering them here in the mall. Kai shook her head.

Samuel didn't miss her hesitation but he didn't press her on the issue. There was only one ceremony that made sense anyway. Yes, this would be very interesting to try to explain to Kai. Bran too, but that should be easier. His Da would laugh himself sick if he could see him right now.

Samuel got restlessly to his feet and Kai followed suit. She kept pace with his as he started wandering through the mall at random.

"Kai, I didn't intend for it to happen this way."

Kai frowned at his wording. "But you did have every intention of it happening."

Samuel's jaw tightened. "Not so soon. I wanted you to be sure of me before I even brought it up."

There was a long moment of silence.

"So… how long have you wanted to-"

Samuel sighed softly and Kai looked at him expectantly.

"Kai, my Wolf has thought of you as mine since before dinner that first day." He stopped walking and turned to face her. "If this is too soon… too uncomfortable… I can back off for a bit, let you… Look into a few other guys for a while…"

Kai's eyes widened. There was no way he could do that without harm to himself, she knew. It would probably drive him into a frenzy if she went out with another man. It was hard for him to even get the words out and the fact that he was willing to go through that for her touched her deeply.

"I'm too old for you. Too many old wounds…"

Kai cocked her head to one side and a soft smile spread across her face as she recognized the song playing on the radio. Samuel turned away without noticing the change in her expression. Kai slipped her hand into his and began humming along quietly with the song. She had always liked Ultimate even if she didn't care for Lindsay Lohan that much. (AN: Look it up guys, it's such a sweet song… okay, okay, I know, I'm such a sap but…)

Samuel looked down at her, startled. He glanced at their hands, tightening his around hers slightly.

"Kai-"

She shushed him and pointed to a speaker set into the ceiling, indicating that he should hush and listen.

She swung their clasped hands gently and some of the tension bled out of Samuel's shoulders. When the song was over he opened his mouth to say something but Kai reached up and touched a finger to his lips.

"Sam, you need to communicate better. I don't care if I'm stressed and tired, if there's something that I should know then just tell me." Her eyes softened. "I hadn't really thought about it until that song came on but Lindsay's right. Everything in Ultimate could easily apply to you. I've thought of the things I want in a man before and you're it and so much more too."

Suddenly a horrible thought crossed her mind. Her face fell and she pulled back from Sam.

"Unless you don't want me."

Samuel forced the Wolf back as he raged that she would ever even _think_ such a thing. She already knew that the Wolf wanted her. He put his fingers lightly under her chin, tipping her head up.

"I want you more then you might realize."

Kai looked into his eyes, not seeing the wolf at all. She smiled as Samuel kissed her, her arms looping around his neck like they belonged there.

* * *

Pretty please


	14. Chapter 14

I'm so sorry for taking way too long to update! I really wanted to earlier than this but I had loads of homework. But I'm on break now :)

Anyways, so here's the next chapter. If you don't review I'll tell Santa that you've been naughty so you'd best all review for me, all right? It's not very hard, just say, 'I loved it!' or I suppose if you have to you can tell me that you absolutely hate my story. Just know that I probably wont believe you if you're putting that in the fourteenth chapter…

Huge hugs to Ephona, TwilifeCrisis, LionAndTheLambLove7, Someone, Strawberries14, Christina (Thank you for the inspiration, I really hadn't even thought of that yet), Katzenpfote, Yakuit (you too, thank you! I really need input from all you guys to see what you think should happen), SweetHoneyDew, Evil Woman, SoulCaptive, StillWaiting4More, Camille, LittleF (no, no there's lots more to come, thanks for reading!), Lyra Waterflame (haha that's to funny…) I'm so very happy to hear/read that you guys are all enjoying the story. I'll try to update more often!

(my bad too, I totally forgot to put this in last night with the chapter, I'm sorry!)

So Merry Christmas to everyone! Enjoy! (And when press that little button at the bottom. Please? For Christmas?)

* * *

Mercy and Jesse got some pretzels from Auntie Anne's Pretzels and wandered around the mall aimlessly.

After a while Mercy stopped and sighed. Jesse followed her gaze and smiled.

"It's good to see him happy. Sometimes he seems a little… off?" Jesse said, not really sure that off was quite the word that she was looking for.

Mercy's expression softened.

"You're right. I'm glad to see him happy but I can't help but feel that something's not right."

Jesse smirked at her.

"Duh, your territory's been invaded."

Mercy chuckled. "Nah, I don't mind. After they get to know each other a bit I'll talk with Kai. Have a little Walker get-together."

Mercy took another bite of her pretzel, chewing thoughtfully.

"You know, these are really good. What do you say we go and get them some too."

Jesse nodded, glancing at Samuel and Kai with a soft smile.

* * *

The trio kept wary eyes fixed on their surroundings. The cheery colors only heightened their discomfort and the southwestern architecture wasn't helping much either.

Abruptly the piano music in the background stopped. The trio paused and the vampire leading them chuckled darkly.

"That's just Lily. She doesn't handle visitors too well…"

The pair in front quickly postured and pretended that they weren't nervous and the man walking slightly behind them fought the urge to roll his eyes.

After a while their guide stopped in front of a large set of double doors. He pushed them open and ushered the three past him, into the room, if such a humble term could justly be applied to the spacious chamber they entered.

The three walked forward and inclined their heads respectfully to the Mistress of the Seethe.

"Greetings." The woman said, her posture non-threatening. "We come to you with a request, Mistress."

There was a pause and the Vampiress nodded slowly, lording her power over the three in front of her. "Continue."

The woman nodded briskly. "We used to have a little were-coyote bitch or something, we were never really quite sure what she was. Anyway, she got away from us," The woman glared at the man next to her. "And came here. We wondered if you would mind terribly if we hunted her here or if you would prefer us to catch her and take her back home with us first."

The Mistress of the Seethe was very still for a long moment.

"A were-coyote?" She asked slowly. The woman nodded.

"That's right. Only she's not moon called."

"And she's here?"

The woman nodded again.

"What is her name?"

The man and woman looked at each other and shrugged.

"No idea."

The third man looked pained to have to share his information, but he did.

"Her name's Kaliska."

The pair turned and stared at him and he refused to drop his eyes.

"I always do a bit of research before a job."

The Vampiress watched them with cold eyes.

"How old is she?" It was worded as a question but the tone made it a command.

The man would have liked to withhold that information as well, if only to make a point, but again, he didn't.

"She's sixteen."

The Mistress nodded decisively. "I shall, of course, require the usual fee for entering my domain."

The Were-tigress smiled and withdrew an envelope from her jacket pocket. The vampire that had guided them to the room took it and counted the money inside. He nodded to his Mistress.

"We have a recently vacated house that I'd be willing to rent to you if you were so inclined." The Vampiress told them.

The pair consulted briefly.

"Thank you, that would be wonderful."

* * *

Kai looked up a while later to find Mercy and Jesse coming towards them with pretzels. Kai squeezed Sam's hand to alert him to their presence but he, of course, had already noticed them.

Kai frowned slightly. Maybe she should work on sharpening her senses. She was getting soft.

Jesse handed her a pretzel with a grin and Mercy gave one to Samuel as well.

"Thanks." Kai said, taking a bite.

Samuel watched her with a smile before turning to Mercy.

"I was thinking of heading to a furniture store to get some things for our house. Did I tell you I bought a house?"

Mercy blinked several times. "No, I think you may have neglected to mention that… Okay, there's one last store I want to take Kai to. Where were you thinking of?" She asked.

"Maybe Walker's over on Morain Street. One of Adam's wolves works there right?"

Mercy nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Alright, if you don't mind I'll bring her over once we're done."

Samuel hesitated. "Alright. Just be careful all right? Don't take too long."

"Samuel is there a specific reason I should be more careful than usual?"

Samuel nodded and Mercy sighed.

"Alright, don't tell me. See you soon."

Samuel quickened his pace and caught up with Jesse and Kai, who had wandered on ahead a ways.

"I'm going to go get started at the furniture store. Mercy wants to take you to one more store first then she'll bring you to meet up with me. That okay with you?"

Kai nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you soon." He kissed her forehead tenderly and made his way through the other people in the mall to one of the exits.

Mercy led them through the mall and turned towards one of the stores. Kai saw what store it was and kept going straight, really not wanting to have to even go into the store.

Jesse cracked up.

"You should see your face. Come on, it's not _that_ bad."

Kai gave her a very skeptical look.

"Its just underwear." Jesse took Kai's arm and towed her into the store where Mercy was waiting.

* * *

It was far too long in Kai's opinion until Mercy and Jesse _finally_ decided they were done torturing her.

They pulled into the parking lot for the furniture store and Kai laughed quietly.

Mercy and Jesse looked at her inquiringly.

"Sam said we're called Walkers right? So us going to Walker's furniture is kinda funny don't you think?"

Mercy laughed. "I'd never thought of it that way."

When they found Samuel he was talking to an employee of the store, who smiled and greeted Mercy and Jesse warmly before turning his gaze to Kai and nodding politely.

He was a Werewolf. Kai nervously slipped her hand into Samuel's.

The other wolf's eyes flickered from Kai to Mercy and back again, comprehension dawning.

Samuel's hand moved away from hers and drew her closer to him, resting on her lower back possessively.

The movement was not lost on the other wolf and he dropped his eyes to the floor.

"It was good talking to you Fred." Samuel said, steering Kai away. Jesse and Mercy stayed and talked with Fred for a while and Samuel took Kai to the living room furniture section first.

It took time, but eventually Samuel had picked out a houseful of furniture with a little help from Kai, managing to never let her see the prices on anything. Samuel looked over at Mercy, a question in his eyes. She lifted one of her own in response. He glanced at Kai.

"So Adam broke… well… One of Adam's desks got broken. Lets go and see if they have any here that he might like." Mercy said, looking at Kai and Jesse.

Kai looked suspiciously at Samuel and sighed as she saw his perfectly angelic expression.

"Alright, alright. Sure, I'll go with Mercy."

Samuel smiled.

* * *

Kai was thankful that shopping for furniture was much more painless than clothes shopping. After a little while Samuel came back to find them, which really wasn't that hard. Jesse's violet hair was hard to miss.

"They'll deliver most of the stuff sometime tomorrow." He looked at Mercy. "Mind if we stay at your place again?"

"No, that's fine. You're welcome anytime."

"Thanks." Kai said quietly, touched.

There were a few moments of silence then Jesse asked, "Do you ever cook anything Kai?"

Kai pursed her lips. "Sometimes." She answered somewhat vaguely.

Jesse's smile could have powered up a light bulb. "Wanna make brownies?"

Kai smiled back. She couldn't help it, Jesse was infectious. In a good way of course. "Sure."

* * *

When they got back to Mercy's house, Jesse dragged a laughing Kai into the house to make brownies while Samuel and Mercy stowed all the bags in Sam's car.

After they were done with that Mercy picked out some things for Kai and took them into the house.

Samuel locked up his car, a habit of his, and followed Mercy into the house.

Kai and Jesse were in the kitchen and he joined them, pulling Kai's hair to one side so he could kiss her cheek. She smiled happily up at him. Jesse finished scraping the batter into the pan and popped it into the oven.

"See? I told you it was easy…"

Kai grinned. "Maybe, but you didn't have anyone behind you watching you like you were prey either."

Jesse's smile faded for a split second before she recovered herself and Kai could feel Samuel tense.

She had said too much. It was so hard knowing what to say and when, she wasn't used to this kind of thing. Samuel's arms slipped around her comfortingly.

"You're doing fine." He whispered.

Kai twisted her head so she could see his face. She didn't think she'd said anything out loud…

Samuel sensed her confusion and sighed softly. "I'll explain later, okay?"

Kai nodded a little uncertainly, somewhat unnerved. Jesse busied herself washing up the dishes and Kai went to help.

* * *

The next morning Samuel and Kai drove to their house. _Their_ house. Kai was still having trouble getting her mind to work with that concept despite Samuel's explanation of the basics of a mate bond last night.

(AN: Okay, okay, so this is probably really unrealistic but we're in a time crunch here. That and its fiction so I can do whatever I want ;-] )

They had only been there for fifteen minutes or so when they heard a truck stop in front. A few moments later, someone knocked on the door. Samuel glanced at his watch and looked pleased.

"Right on time." He said as he moved to the door.

The team of men efficiently brought the furniture in, putting it in the rooms that they were directed to. After about an hour Samuel asked Kai if she minded him going out for a bit.

Kai said she didn't and he left.

A couple hours later the men were done and left.

Kai wandered around the house and then kicked off her shoes, turning the heat up a few degrees. She found her Ipod that she had gotten out of Samuel's car, finally remembering that her bag was now in his car and turned her music on, turning the volume all the way up. She arranged her headphones on the kitchen counter and set about unwrapping, washing, and putting away the dishes.

After she was done with that she went around the end of the counter into the living room and carefully slit the plastic that wrapped up the leather couch. She set the knife down on the floor and pulled the plastic off, taking the cardboard off the feet of the couch as well. She positioned the couch in a bit better of a spot with some effort before eyeing the bigger pieces. After a moment she decided that she wasn't going to be able to move those by herself. She stepped backwards and something sharp bit into her foot.

Kai yelped and jumped away, looking at the floor to see what she had stepped on. She growled to herself and picked up the knife, limping over to the counter and setting it there where she wouldn't step on it again. She plopped down on the couch and took off her sock. The cut was bleeding but only a little. It was basically just a paper cut, just on her foot. She sighed and limped to where she had left her bag, getting out a band-aid. She stuck it on her grievous wound and made a face. It had cut her sock too so she took of her other one as well and turned up the temperature a little more. She located the basic tool set that Samuel had and took it upstairs to the bedroom there.

She eyed the box that most of the pieces for the bed frame were in and sighed before hobbling back downstairs to get the knife.

Kai opened the box and read the destructions… er, instructions, before touching anything. She followed them to the letter so that she couldn't possibly be blamed if the bed collapsed.

After she had the frame together she pushed it into position, or at least where _she_ thought it should go. She frowned and looked out the window. It was almost dark; Samuel should have been back by now. She started towards the door but paused when she realized that her foot didn't hurt. She sat on the bed frame and examined her foot, peeling off the band-aid. There was nothing there. The cut was gone. Kai narrowed her eyes. Was she going crazy? No, crazy people didn't know that they were crazy and she definitely knew that she was so therefore she couldn't _really_ be crazy… Though this would possibly prove otherwise… She glared at her foot for a moment longer then got up again and trotted down the stairs.

She stopped short at the bottom of the steps. Why hadn't she heard him come in?

Samuel was in the living room in wolf form and he lowered his head slightly, gazing intensely at Kai.

After she had recovered from the initial shock of suddenly seeing a huge werewolf standing there and managing to strangle the urge to run, she noticed that he had something in his mouth. Something red… With a stem. No.

Samuel walked over to her and tucked his muzzle under her hand, lifting it. Kai complied leaving her hand where he'd placed it even after he withdrew. Samuel looked at her and then exhaled in what could almost have been a sigh. He turned his head so that the head of the flower was in her hand and released it.

Kai held on to the flower, hardly daring to confirm her suspicion that it was a rose. It had to be the most romantic thing she had ever seen, him standing there in all his lupine glory, the blood red rose a splash of color against his white fur. And that it had been for her only made it more special.

She dropped to her knees, her arms slipping up around Sam's neck. She was trembling damn it. Why was she trembling?

Kai let out a half laugh. "Thank you Sam. Thank you so very, very much. For everything." Did he really care about her? He'd said he did but… He had done more for her in the few days she'd known him than anyone in her entire life. She wondered what life would be like if she stayed with him.

Kai pulled back away from him and his tail waved a little. He licked her cheek and picked up a bundle of cloth from the floor by the door to the dining room before slipping into the bathroom and pushing the door closed.

Kai stared at the flower in her hands and slowly a smile spread across her face. It seemed like maybe her luck had turned that day when she met Samuel Cornick.

* * *

The car slowed in front of the house that the silver Mercedes had stopped at and the driver glared at the glowing windows. The woman in the passenger seat punched his shoulder.

"What the hell do you think you're stopping for? That wolf's not stupid. Keep driving."

The man frowned and sped up again, driving past.

* * *

So y'all like it or not… It's a little choppy sorry but I was sort of running low on ideas so… Remember, I know how to get in touch with Santa so be nice and review! ;) (I've wanted to say that since October)

Click right V there and tell me what you would like to see happen


	15. Chapter 15

Heh, sorry it took me so long to update… Its really sad, I'm getting greedy. I know y'all can do better with reviews though :( it really does help me write loads faster.

Anyway, big thank yous to SweetieCherrie, Maelys, LionAndTheLambLove7, Cluaran, Katzenpfote, Someone, TwiLifeCrisis, and Yakuit, you make my life happy :)

I don't own Patricia Brigg's characters, just my own and the plot.

Enjoy…

* * *

Sam emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of jeans, his shirt in his hand.

Kai had busied herself putting the rose in a glass of water. Samuel watched her for a moment, a small smile playing about his lips before he walked over to the thermostat and turned the air-conditioning up.

Sam went back out to his car that he'd left in the driveway, pausing as his wolf sensed danger. He looked around on full alert but the feeling slowly faded. He growled softly, low in his throat and opened the door of his car, snagging the bags out.

He carried them inside, the smell of the fried chicken coating his nose. He closed the door gently, though he knew Kai was aware by now that he'd brought home dinner and carried the groceries into the kitchen, setting them on the counter.

Kai's arms wrapped around him from behind, her slender form pressed against him.

"Thank you," She said again, this time adding, "You brought food…"

Samuel chuckled and she released him, reaching up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He caught her and held her there, turning his head so their foreheads were touching, his nose brushing hers slightly. He stared into her eyes, his heart warming as she didn't look away.

"I'll have to remember to bring dinner home more." He said softly.

Kai smiled and kissed him again, on the mouth this time, softly and for only a brief moment, but she did.

Kai stepped away from Sam and got out two plates and two sets of silver wear, suddenly realizing that maybe she should have put together the stools for the counter.

Sam pulled the other groceries out of the bags and began putting them in cupboards and the refrigerator.

Kai hesitated. "You okay eating on the couch? I should have gotten out the stools…"

"No, the couch is fine Kai, thank you."

Kai blinked. She hadn't done anything, why was he thanking her? Sam looked over at her.

"For being yourself. For being my mate. For being so damn cute. Lots of things."

Kai flushed and ducked her head a little, smiling at his words.

Kai found the paper plates he'd bought and the napkins, putting several pieces of chicken on a plate for Sam and one on hers. She dished him up some coleslaw too and got two glasses of water. Samuel took one cup from her and grabbed his plate and hers, carrying them both over to the couch. Kai mock glowered at his back and followed him.

They ate in silence, just enjoying each other's company, and afterward Samuel went upstairs to finish putting the bed together, Kai gathering up the used dishes and empty food containers into a bag before taking them outside to the trashcan. She slipped on her shoes; not bothering with socks for the few minutes it would take, and went outside.

Kai walked slowly, enjoying the calm night air and gazing longingly up at the stars. She wondered absently if they had dreams of their own or if they were really as cold, distant, and uncaring as they seemed.

She gave a little sigh as she dropped the bag into the trashcan and smiled. The stars might be cold and uncaring but she knew someone who seemed to be just the opposite. She turned eagerly around and headed for the door, wanting to get back to Samuel.

Suddenly an arm wrapped around her waist and someone held a damp, noxiously sweet-smelling rag over her mouth and nose. Kai struggled and fought but slowly her eyesight grew dim. The last sensations she felt were those of being carried before unconsciousness claimed her.

* * *

Five minutes later, Samuel had the bed put together and went downstairs to find the sheets and blankets, looking around for Kai. He didn't see, smell, or hear her. Samuel frowned. Her socks were on the floor but her shoes were missing.

He had been keeping their bond mostly closed to keep from unsettling her too badly but now he poured into the connection. Nothing. She was there still, but not much of her. He couldn't tell where she was.

Samuel bolted to the door and flung it open, following her scent outside and froze for a brief moment, as he smelled fear, Were-cats, and chloroform mingling with Kai's scent.

Samuel loped after Kai, mentally running through his list of people he knew that might be able to help him get her back in time.

It was a very short list.

* * *

The pair ran as fast as they could back to their car, which they had parked a few streets away. When they reached it, they dumped the unconscious Walker into the back and got in, tearing away from the curb.

The were-tigress looked back, her expression worried and fearful before she relaxed into her usual haughty self.

"Pity that wolf got involved." She snorted. "Dogs. Never could understand them, stupid things."

Jed nodded in agreement and the Were-tigress, Ariel, purred softly to herself as she glanced into the back to make sure that Kai was really still there.

Kai lay on the seat limply, her unconscious mind withdrawing, seeking to shelter herself from the pain that she knew would come soon.

* * *

Samuel lost the scent at a road where there had recently been a car. He muttered nasty things under his breath, dropping into Welsh. He dug out his phone and called Adam.

"I need your help."

"Samuel. What do you need?"

"Kai's just been abducted. Have your wolves keep an eye out for a black Audi with dark tinted windows."

"You were close enough to see the car?" Adam asked, his tone mild.

Samuel growled. "No. I've seen it before though. They're were cats Adam, be careful."

Samuel pressed the end call button and made his way back to the house, feeling for Kai but he still couldn't determine her location. His mouth tightened and he made another call.

The phone was answered almost before it even rang. "Samuel."

"Kai's gone again. I can't tell where she is and I have to find her."

The man on the other end was silent for a moment.

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

A little of the stiffness left Samuel. "Thanks Da." He half-whispered before ending the call.

* * *

Kai was jolted roughly awake, cold water splashing in her face. She spluttered and did her best to blink the water out of her eyes. When her eyes had adjusted to the light she glanced quickly around the room, gauging her situation.

She was sitting in a chair, a hard, cold, metal chair in a barren room with no windows. Jed was standing in front of her holding a bucket, just staring at her. Kai held still, knowing that if she moved he would attack.

Her hands were tied behind her, the rope too tight and cutting into her skin uncomfortably. But then, that was the point. She kept her eyes carefully fixed on a spot halfway up the wall behind the man, neither challenging him nor showing her fear. She had learned to hide fear well.

After several minutes Jed got bored and left with a glance back over his shoulder that told her he would be back later. The door closed and she could hear locks gliding into place on the other side.

After his footsteps were long gone Kai shifted her feet to see if they were free. No such luck, they seemed to be tied to the chair as well. Kai slumped in the chair, closing her eyes and letting the tension slip away.

Suddenly she felt Samuel, overwhelming and worried, of the edge of being frantic. Her eyes opened quickly and she looked around before belatedly realizing that it was in her head. _This is so strange,_ she thought to herself with a touch of humor.

It slowly dawned on her what they would do to Samuel if he came to rescue her, which she could tell; he seemed rather intent on doing.

She clamped down on the mate bond, closing herself off from Samuel's comforting presence. She cared deeply for him, maybe even loved him, and there was no way that she was going to let them hurt him too. She could get herself out of here somehow but she would never be able to face herself in the mirror ever again if she was responsible for tender, strong, fierce Samuel getting hurt.

She relaxed the muscles in her hands and tugged against the ropes but to no avail, they were too tight. A breath of very cold air brushed the back of her neck and she flinched away from it, looking over her shoulder as best she could. There was a pale figure there. She looked around the room, seeing more appear.

One of the ghosts, a middle aged woman, glided forward and looked at Kai.

"If you help us, we'll help you." She said.

Kai's eyes narrowed slightly. "Help you do what?" She asked, carefully avoiding committing to anything before she knew what they were asking of her.

The ghost cocked her head a little to one side, considering. "Destroy the vampire that killed us. We'll help you find him even."

"How very thoughtful of you." Kai said dryly. "How am I supposed to kill him? And do I have to kill him before or after you help me out of my little fix here?" While she was speaking Kai leaned over and twisted around until she could see the base of the chair.

"You can do it after so long as you give us your word Walker and I assume you can kill him in any of the usual ways in which one might kill a vampire."

Kai grunted noncommittally and carefully tilted the chair a bit so she could slip the ropes around her shins off the end of the chair leg.

"And what happens if I say I will but fail?" She asked, tipping the chair the other way now.

The ghost's eyes hardened. "Then you had better pray that if that happens the vampire kills you. You would be an oath-breaker and no one, not fae, not vampires, not werewolves, will deal with an oath-breaker." Her eyes became suddenly crafty though Kai wasn't watching her and so didn't see. She continued, watching the young Walker's expression. "I once knew a werewolf whose mate broke her word… He had their mate bond severed."

Pain and fear touched the Walker's eyes and the ghost knew she had made her point.

Kai thought hard. On the one hand she had to get out of here or she would certainly die, probably in the slowest, most painful way possible. The best way to do that would be to get the ghosts to help her. Ghosts could do things that she couldn't, and, while she might be smaller and faster than the weres, they were stronger and there was little chance that she would be able to get past them.

But on the other hand, if she got the ghosts help she would have to kill a vampire and she had no idea how to do that. If she failed, Samuel would break their mate bond and Kai didn't think she could stand to loose him.

She could wait for him to find her, but then the weres would have him outnumbered three to one and he might get hurt, maybe even killed. She wouldn't, couldn't, do that.

She could attempt to get herself out but the chances of that happening was very slim. She looked up.

"Sunlight kills vampires, right?"

The ghost nodded.

"If I were to agree, what exactly would you do to help me?"

The woman smiled, sending a chill down Kai's spine. She wasn't sure she liked ghosts.

* * *

Samuel muttered more nasty welsh words under his breath as she closed the connection again. He hadn't gotten a lock on her location. On the up side though, he was a lot closer to being able to do so. She hadn't been moving so she was probably wherever they had been taking her.

He ran the red light, ignoring the traffic camera on top of the signal. Adam's SUV was just a bit behind him and followed as he sped through town.

He had to hurry if he wanted to get her back unharmed and it would still take him a little to find exactly where she was and how to get to her.

* * *

Kai really didn't like this plan but it was the best either her or the ghost could come up with, at least that they were willing to voice. Personally, Kai thought that the ghost was holding back another option, but she may just have been paranoid.

Kai was tied to the chair again, just as Jed had left her. Footsteps approached and Kai tensed, fear building. She didn't push it away or try to stop the rising tide. That might alert them to the hope of escape that she was harboring in her heart.

The door swung open and Jed came in. He bared his teeth at her and growled, enjoying the whimper that escaped the Walker. He grabbed the chair, Kai and all and carried it out of the room and up out of the deep basement.

He dropped the chair roughly in what looked to be a living room, the Mistress there, lounging on the couch. She sneered at Kai, carefully filing her long fingernails into sharp claws.

After a few more minutes of psychological torture, the true pain began.

What seemed like hours later Kai began to wonder if it had been wise to trust that ghost after all, then suddenly she was there in front of Kai, waving her hands and muttering. She had only recently been killed and so she claimed that much of her magic was still at her beck and call. Kai only hoped that she would be able to make a convincing replica of her and hold it long enough.

The Mistress slashed her talons across Kai's face, leaving three long gashes on her cheek and the ghost nodded to Kai that all was ready and she was now to shift.

Kai had nothing to lose and what was a little more pain. She yanked her hands free of the ropes behind her and shifted, tugging her hind legs free of the ropes as quickly as possible. She scrambled to the other side of the room and looked back. It was the strangest feeling she had ever had, looking back across the room at herself, still strapped into the chair. As she watched, Jed raised a knife and plunged it through her heart. Kai turned and fled as 'she' died very convincingly.

She managed to make it out of the house and kept going, keeping her mind closed, not even daring to think. If this was to work, everyone must think she was dead. Her control over her mate bond had slipped in the pain and she guessed that Samuel must have felt it. She froze in a thick clump of bushes as Samuel's car stopped in front of the house and he flew inside.

Kai turned and ran, the need to go to Samuel almost overwhelming, though she knew she couldn't. She would get farther away. Maybe then she wouldn't miss him so badly. She wanted nothing more than for him to hold her close and tell her it was going to be fine.

Thankfully coyotes can't cry, so no tears blinded her as she ran headlong into the gathering dusk.

* * *

Short, I know. Tell me what you think!

Please


	16. Chapter 16: Rewritten and revised

Well, I have now re-written this chapter (because it REALLY sucked.) I had also originally intended this to be two chapters but it didn't work that way as I was writing or re-writing it. This is a really dark chapter and I found parts of this a little difficult so you'll all have to tell me what you thought of it. I live and breath reviews, and I tend to write much faster when I get lots too…  
And my family tells me I've been acting a little odd as I've been writing this so reviews make me happy and I might need a bit of that after writing something so dark.

Thank yous, as always, go to my beloved readers (for reading this sucky story…) and those of you who reviewed the last chapter (and to anyone who reviewed other chapters as well but… You get the idea.) Hugs and cookies go to Maelys, Bran4Ever, Someone, StillWaiting4More, SweetieCherrie, LittleF, LionAndTheLambLove7, and TwiLifeCrisis. I love you guys so much, I swear. You're the bestest and I will do my very best to add in any requested clarifications and scenes when I re-write (which I am starting to work on).

I also am sending huge hugs and lots of happy thoughts to my wonderful readers who reviewed this before I re-wrote it and managed to give me positive feedback (despite my really sucky chapter) and so this re-write is dedicated to LittleF, Maelys, TwiLifeCrisis, Elskestar, SweetieCherrie, Someone, LionAndTheLambLove7, and UrbanFantasyParanormalRomance. I love you guys.

I don't own any of Patricia Briggs characters (darn it!) just my OCs and the plot. And I suppose I don't own anything else that someone might be able to legally contest (Sam and Kai's house coming to mind…)

Anyway, enough long winded, repetitive, boring, every-chapter, same thing over and over again, author note type stuff ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

Samuel jerked his car to a harsh stop outside the house he had felt Kai in and bolted to the front door as fast as he could go, smashing the door open without bothering to slow in the slightest in his frantic rage.

He tore through the house on his quest to find Kai, the red hue of bloodlust forming a haze across his vision. Without much trouble he found the room containing the other Weres, freezing as he saw the limp, lifeless form of his mate tied to a chair.

A wordless, bestial roar of rage and pain was torn from his throat and he lunged at the male, who was closer to Kai's body, slamming his shoulder into his stomach.

The Were-cat stumbled back, bent over his belly, recovering quickly; he straightened and grinned, dropping into a crouch, ready for the fight to come.

Unnoticed by either of the males, the Were-tigress slunk out of the room and across the house, escaping into the night through the back door.

Samuel and Jed grappled, each trying to overpower the other and revealing that they were fairly evenly matched. They broke apart and retreated a few paces, circling and looking for openings in the other's defenses.

Jed saw one first and drew a knife from his belt, slashing toward Samuel's stomach. Samuel dodged the blow at the last moment and grabbed the other man's wrist, twisting savagely and slipping the knife out of his opponent's hand. He made to slip Jed's throat but the cat twisted away, catching the blade on his shoulder.

Backing away, the Were-cat snarled.

"She died screaming your name." He taunted, his voice hoarse and uneven.

Samuel growled and lunged. Jed was ready for him and flipped him the table and chairs on the other side of the room. Splinters of wood jabbed into Samuel's skin, marking him with a myriad of small, nasty cuts.

Samuel got to his feet again, though he had lost the knife amongst the splintered chairs.

The fight continued for some time, the two men a close match for each other in both strength and cunning. Blood spattered them both, as well as the walls and floor, more furniture becoming shards of wood.

It was impossible to tell which way the struggle was going to end, first going one way then in the blink of an eye the table would turn and the other man appeared to be winning.

* * *

The fae, now but a shadow of her former self as a ghost, watched the fight closely, knowing that neither Were could see her, much less harm her in any way, shape, or form. She smiled slightly to herself, pleased that her plan had gone so well. The Walker had escaped alive and mostly well, though she definitely wasn't in top condition, and the Mate thought her dead.

Now the coyote was free to track down and dispose of the other Were that had been here and the vampire, killing them both.

Or perhaps her mate would get rid of the other Were-cat for them. It was entirely likely that he would be feeling at least a little vengeful after he had a little time to grieve.

She knew that eventually he would notice that, though closed off, his mate bond was still intact and thus, Kai wasn't really dead and gone.

The ghost hoped that he wouldn't find her before the Walker had killed the vampire. He might find a way around their pact or not let the girl-child go through with it. Stranger things had happened.

* * *

Kai could feel Samuel's pain and grief through the sliver of the bond that she couldn't close and every fiber in her being yearned to go to him, to reach out and comfort him. It hurt worse knowing that she was the one causing all this pain and that he was suffering needlessly.  
She had stopped for a short break, catching her breath and deciding where to go. She checked the wind, which was blowing towards her from the house. It was filled with the scents of exertion, sweat, pain, and blood.

Samuel was fighting. He could get hurt, or worse, killed and all because of her. She staggered to her feet but stopped short when she caught the Were-tigress's scent, the familiar scent of her former master. Her lip curled and she growled low in hate. She was outside of the house and fading away, escaping.  
Kai snarled as she realized that it would now be longer before she could return to Samuel's comforting arms.

The Were's had stolen her from Samuel's house and therefore knew where he lived, ergo, they would look for her there again, thinking that that was where she would go. She had to trust that Samuel could escape from Jed. She had to get away from here.  
Quickly she sorted through her options. There weren't many to choose from.

Suddenly a thought struck her and she glanced at the sky to determine which way was which before trotting off into the darkness.

* * *

Both men were tiring, though Samuel less so, his rage and pain driving him onward every time his eyes fell on Kai's body.

The Were-cat snorted softly as he watched the Wolf glance at the corpse again.  
"Relax would you? It's not like she died painfully or anything…"  
The wounds on her body proved otherwise but Samuel didn't respond.  
"She held out to the very end, believing that you would be here to save her. The look in her eyes was tragic as in her last moment; she realized that no one was coming for her. That you wouldn't save her."

Samuel's eyes were pale and ice cold as he lunged forward and grabbed the other Were's head in both his hands. The feline's eyes widened and he struggled to escape but Samuel's grip was too strong. He grew limp as a sickening crack sounded and Samuel dropped him unceremoniously to the floor.

A tear slid down his cheek as he knelt next to the chair and loosed the ropes around the body of his mate, taking her into his arms and nuzzling her sadly.

The other man had been right, she smelled of fear, pain and desperation, very little of her distinct scent remaining. He frowned slightly at this but it was undoubtedly her in his arms.

"Oh Kaliska, I am so sorry, I-" His words were cut short by the soundless sobs that racked his body.

* * *

Kai stopped in front of the gate that went out to the riverbank and hesitated for a moment before she Turned and opened it, leaving it ajar for a quick escape as she Shifted back to coyote.

She would have to Turn again to open a window or something but she would really rather not be seen slipping across the yard wearing nothing.

She crept up to the back door and was about to Shift again to see if it was unlocked when Shadow barked. It was a low and frightening sound, alerting the house to the intruder.

Kai heard Jake's voice almost immediately, shushing the big black dog.

He came over to the door and looked out the window on it, spotting Kai. She was gratified that he opened the door for her. He really shouldn't have, it was stupid to come here again and put him and his family in danger. Again.

"Kai?" He said quietly, his tone worried. She slipped past him into the house. He watched her silently before sighing.

"Someday you should come see me when you're not hurt and exhausted. Come on." He went stealthily upstairs and got a tee shirt and sweat pants for her to wear and put them in the bathroom.

"If you want to clean up you can, there are clean towels in that cupboard." He indicated which one he meant and shook his head.

"I feel so stupid talking to a coyote, you know? I'm pretty sure it really is you though. It wasn't the Werewolves that did this to you was it? Never mind, we can talk in a bit." The kind young man closed the door softly and went back downstairs again. Kai listened for a moment and heard the quiet breathing if the other members of the family, all sound asleep.

It was so peaceful here. She shook her head and Shifted again, her legs trembling. She hated having to change so much, it tired her more than one would believe.

How the hell was she supposed to kill a bloody _vampire_?! With a heavy sigh she turned on the hot water in the shower and got out a towel and washcloth. There was soap in the shower already and she washed quickly, holding in her yelps as water and soap stung painfully in cuts and scratches.

When she was clean she pulled on the clothes Jake had gotten for her and trotted downstairs to talk with him. He was downstairs in the TV room, staring blankly at the screen and he looked up when she came in.

"Those are some nasty cuts on your face." He said slowly, making room for her on the couch.

Kai nodded and sat.

"I'm in a bit of trouble again. I'm really sorry for endangering you again but I couldn't think of anywhere else to go, they know about Samuel's house and I'm not sure how he'd react to seeing me anyway…"

"Kai, I'm really glad to see you again. I wasn't sure… I'm glad you're okay. How can I help you this time?"

Kai stared at him for a moment, feeling the sincerity of his words. A smile passed over her face and she gave him a quick hug.

"You have no idea what that means to me, thank you. I need to get back to Samuel's house. He thinks I'm dead but he's in danger and I have to protect him. I have to. If…" Kai took a shaky breath and calmed herself.

"Can you drive?" She asked, holding her calm façade together but only barely.

Jake nodded. "Why do I get the feeling I really don't want to hear about your day? You tell me where you want to go, all right? I failed at helping you last time, I'll try to do better."

"Jake, thank you, that's really sweet. I have to warn you though that there will probably be angry creatures and fighting…"

Jake nodded. "I know. I have to do something with my life though and finally something interesting is happening to me. I'm not going to sit here on the couch wondering if I should have gotten more involved when your world dropped at my gate. I don't want to regret life like that, I'm only going to live once and I want to live the best life possible."

Kai smiled and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

Samuel retreated into himself, grief overwhelming him as he pushed aside the tattered remains of their bond.

Adam's vehicle finally pulled up outside and he clutched the cold body tighter. She was so cold. He didn't really register that she was, perhaps, a little colder than a real body would have been.

The front door was pushed farther open and two sets of footsteps entered the house. Samuel easily recognized them belonging to Adam and Mercy. When they reached the entrance to the room he was in, they stopped, taking in the mess of broken wood and glass, Samuel bleeding in the middle of the room holding the still form of his young mate, another body laying halfway across the room, it's neck at an unnatural angle.

Mercy looked around a second time after her initial assessment and froze, her eyes locking onto another form in the room that only she could see.

The ghost stared at her for a moment then cursed and faded out of sight.

Mercy blinked. No wonder the room reeked of magic and ghost as well as blood and death. Adam and Samuel hadn't seemed to notice this fact and she would have asked Adam but it seemed insensitive somehow to do so in front of Samuel, in as fragile of a state as he was in.

Tears welled up in her eyes for the younger Walker's fate.

Adam stared at the sight in front of them for a moment longer before taking Mercy's elbow, drawing her backwards out of the house. Never once did his eyes leave Samuel's hunched form.

Once they were outside Adam got out his phone and pressed a few buttons.

"What happened?" The Marrok asked as he picked up on the first ring.

"Samuel's mate is dead. I don't think we can get him into a safe-room."

"I'm on my way. I'll be there in a few hours."

"Thanks."

* * *

The Were-tigress felt the moment Jed's life slipped away. The wolf had killed him. He would pay.

In the back of her mind she knew it was really only fair since the stupid dog seemed to have had some sort of feelings for that little coyote mutt that had annoyed her so much for so many years. She growled, glad she had finally had the chance to kill her. Never more would the little mutt bother her again.

But Jed was gone and the Wolf would pay.

She headed in the direction of his house, flagging down any passing cars that she saw. Finally and to her great joy, a cab stopped.

The wolf was likely wrapped up in grief at the death of the little bitch. This would be her best and probably only chance she would get at killing him.

She would reach his house before him and set a few traps if she could. Less sporting, but so much safer. With this particular wolf, she decided that safer was better than fun.

* * *

Varius was on his way back to where he had left his car. He'd been paid in full and wanted nothing more to do with this job. Things were beginning to spiral out of his control and he didn't like that. He knew that the other Were-cats planned to kill the young coyote tonight and he felt sorry for her but there was nothing he could or would do about it.

He paused as he came across her scent. It was fresh and she shouldn't have been out wandering the night. Curious, he followed.

She went back to the house he had taken her from which surprised him. He watched and waited, wondering what she was up to and how she had gotten away from the two insane Weres that he'd been hired by. As far as he could tell, they had no real reason to even want to track her down and kill her but they did anyway. Probably a matter of pride or something. _But pride cometh before a fall…_

* * *

Adam, Mercy, and several others from the pack that Adam had called waited outside the house. After a while Elvietta(sp?) the witch came and Adam and Mercy went inside to try to reason with Samuel.

Finally he consented to come out of the house, carrying the dead Kai tenderly cradled in his arms. It was late at night and he had no idea how long how long he had sat in the house motionless.

Elvietta murmured something in surprise as he came out of the house and she moved toward him, her eyes on the body. Samuel growled darkly at her, his eyes pale.  
"That is something I never expected to see again. I thought she had died." Elvietta said.  
Mercy looked at her. "So, am I right in thinking that…"  
"It's a fake. Yes." And with that the witch swept past them and into the house.

Samuel stared at Mercy. "What?" He asked, his eyes filled with pain. He didn't dare to hope that they had said what he thought they had.

"There's a chance that might not actually be Kai. I saw a ghost in the house when we first got here and it smelled like magic of some sort," Mercy said gently.  
Adam and Samuel both stared at her then Samuel tore open his end of the mate bond, which was indeed, still there. She was alive.

He could feel her surprise as he surged against her barriers and she tried to hold him back but she was no match for him. She was alive and mostly well. She managed to block him out again before he could locate her though.

* * *

After she had pushed Samuel out Kai felt so much emptier. Jake stopped about a block away from Samuel's house as she had directed and she got out.  
She could pick up trace scents of the Were-tigress but only because she was so familiar with that odor.  
Her lip curled slightly and she pushed back the fear that always rose when she smelled her mistress near, the urge to cower ingrained.

She wanted to draw on Samuel's strength but that would mean him finding where she was.  
Kai slipped cautiously from bush to shrub, shadow to shadow. She paused and slipped out of Jake's clothes, Shifting as soon as she was free of them.

She would protect Samuel and get rid of the Were that had hunted her for so long. Then she would go and find this vampire and kill it too.

Weres were strong and fast but she had discovered that she was smaller and just a hair quicker, especially if the woman was in human form, which she was. Now Kai held the advantage of having claws and teeth.

She approached the house, creeping up carefully and slipping inside without a sound, walking a little strangely to keep her claws from clicking on the floor.

At first she couldn't hear anything moving around inside with her and thought she might have heard something from where Jake had dropped her off but she wasn't sure.

She slunk into the living room/kitchen area and looked around carefully in the gloom. In a few moments the mistress slipped into the room through a window that hadn't been broken last time Kai was here.

Kai stayed absolutely still and waited until the other woman turned her back to her before leaping forward, her teeth aimed for the back of the Were's neck.  
The noise of her claws had given her away though and the Were spun around, her fist slamming into Kai. For a moment Kai thought she could see blood on the woman's face but that had to be wrong.

The mistress had hit her hard and she had still been in the air at the time so she flew backward, hitting the corner of the wall. Red pain bloomed behind her eyes and she couldn't seem to get to her feet.  
The Were snarled evilly at her. "You were supposed to be dead little bitch. I'll have to kill you again I suppose. And just so you know, your boyfriend is bleeding out his last as we speak so you won't die alone."

Kai tried to get up again, scrabbling at the floor desperately.

The Were drew a knife from her hip and tested the balance for a moment before taking careful aim. She hurled the knife.  
Kai closed her eyes in dreadful expectation and heard the knife hit flesh with a truly sickening sound. Surprisingly she didn't really feel any different. She opened her eyes to see the Were that had kidnapped her the first time fall to his knees. Varius.

The mistress stood there trembling, staring in shock at the hired mercenary.

Kai realized that she had stopped holding her mate bond closed at some point. She could feel Samuel all around her. He was coming. No, he was here. A huge white form flew through the open front door and in a few heartbeats the Were-tigress was no longer where she had been a moment ago and there was blood everywhere.

Kai Shifted, ignoring new stabs of pain and the screamed protest of her body, not used to Shifting this many times so close together, and crawled around so she could see the man's face. He was calm, the knife protruding from his ribs. She helped him down into a sitting position, and then helped him lay back. Her hands hovered over the knife, unsure what to do but she vaguely remember that you weren't supposed to remove things from puncture wounds.

She felt Samuel begin the Change back to human form and the edges of her vision went fuzzy. Gray closed over her, than black slowly crept across her eyes, following the gray. Her head felt funny and her shoulders ached.

Samuel caught her as she fell.

* * *

Samuel felt the instant she dropped her guard and was Shifting. Nothing would stop him from getting to his mate soon enough. Not this time.  
He was riding in the backseat of Adam's SUV and he could feel the Alpha gathering his power to try to contain him but he ignored it. When he was fully changed he pushed off the seat and through the closed window, knowing it would be faster to run.

He reached the house in record time and was inside. He made a snap decision to take out the woman first. He was on her in a flash, her throat in his jaws. After she was properly dead and shredded, he turned to take out the male but he was no longer a threat, a knife in his ribs. Samuel Changed again, watching Kai as well as he could. She shifted, blood matting her hair. Her face was scratched and she had bruises scattered across her skin. Kneeling, she did her best to tend to the other Were and Samuel felt possessive anger sear through him. She was _His_ and belonged to no other. _Mine._

He was barely finished with his change when she swayed and collapsed. He was there to catch her, cradling her gently in his arms.

He carried her upstairs to their bed and lay her gently down on top of the covers, running his hands over her to feel for other wounds. None were serious. He rolled her onto her stomach and felt her skull tenderly. It wasn't a bad wound and her head didn't seem to be fractured. Still.

He debated for a moment the best way to wake her then, with a wolfish look, set to nibbling on her ear.

She came around after a moment and batted at him. He withdrew, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's your name?" He asked her, staring into her eyes.

Every trace of humor left her face and her eyes got darker and filled with pain. "Kai. Samuel, you don't-?"

"Shhh, no of course I remember you. I could never forget you. You hit your head, that's all."

She looked so relieved; Samuel had to hold back his own chuckle of relief. She was all right.

A car, Adam's, finally arrived. Samuel growled and kissed Kai possessively. She responded immediately, her arms slipping around his neck and holding him there.

Footsteps came up to the door but stopped there. Someone knocked on the frame.

After a moment, Kai had to come up for air. "I think they're waiting for us…"

Samuel growled softly and worked his way down to her neck, hesitating there. She tipped her head to give him better access, trusting him totally. He nibbled at her pulse points before muttering,

"Finally the pup is showing some sense."

"Excuse me?" Kai said, sounding a little offended.

"Not you…" He told her, his lips brushing against her skin. She shivered and with effort pushed him away. His eyes snapped to hers, his lighter than usual.

"Not now." She said, dropping her eyes a little then quickly bringing them back up and staring determinedly at the wall past his shoulder. "L-later. M-maybe after their… gone."

Samuel nodded and got up going over to a box and finding a pair of jeans. He pulled them on and Kai blushed wrapping a blanket around herself.

"Is Jake all right? And the other Were?" Kai asked quietly.

Samuel gazed at her for a moment. "I have no idea. My mate comes first. Wait, Jake?"

Kai bit her lip and glanced at the door. Someone knocked on the doorframe again downstairs.

Returning to the bed, Samuel pulled Kai against him and lifted her bridal style, ignoring her squeaked protest that she could walk on her own feet. She didn't fight him though.

Samuel walked down the stairs gently, hardly jostling Kai at all. Once again ignoring her protest, he stepped over the other were on the floor and went to where he could see the door.

He leaned against the wall as casually as he could holding Kai, and looked hard at Adam. After a tense moment, Kai struggled.

"I will not put up with these stupid games Samuel. My friend is outside dying and there is a person that saved my life on the floor over there, also dying and yet here you are, staring down the local Alpha."

Mercy looked at the girl approvingly. "May we please come in Samuel?" She asked sweetly.

Samuel looked down at Kai's face then glanced at Mercy again. One was a rock, and the other a hard place. He surrendered and nodded to Mercy and Adam, walking over to the downed Were.

Adam motioned to his other wolves that had waited by the vehicle to go back to the car they had passed on their way here. He had thought it was odd that it was sitting there seemingly abandoned so close.

Samuel knelt down and Kai took the opportunity to slither loose. He let her go, though he was ready to snatch her back at a moment's notice.

"Mercy, get Kai something to drink." Samuel said and Adam growled low in his throat. Kai and Mercy shared a glance and rolled their eyes, totally in sync.

Mercy went into the kitchen and got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, tossing it to Kai, who was grateful that she caught it.

Samuel checked the man over. He had lost a lot of blood but by some miracle, the knife had missed all of his vital organs by a hairsbreadth.

"He needs to get to the hospital." Samuel said, looking at Adam. Adam nodded and pulled out his phone.

Samuel stood and scooped Kai into his arms again, fighting the urge to kiss her as she bit off another squeak.

She was so vocal and alive.

Samuel turned to take her upstairs again.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"We," he told her patiently, "are going to go upstairs. As soon as possible, Adam and Mercy are going to get out of my house so we-"

Kai's face was pink as she interrupted him with a soft whisper. "I think my head hurts a little much for…"

Samuel looked at her for a long moment. "Alright."

And just for the record, her head really did hurt. At least a little.

He carried her back upstairs and set her on the bed, going back over to the box and rummaging around a bit. He came up with a bottle.

"This will take away the pain but it'll put you to sleep too and you might feel a little drugged when you wake up."

Kai nodded. "You'll find Jake right?"

Samuel nodded and handed her one of the pills, watching as she took it with some of the water she still held.

Samuel looked a little distant and Kai couldn't bear it. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around him.

"I love you." She confessed against his chest. His arms closed around her, enfolding her in love and safety.

"I love you too."

* * *

Okay, so again I would really like to know what you all think of this (you can tell me again if you're one of my marvelous eight that reviewed earlier). Was it good? Bad? Just okay? I really haven't written much stuff like this. More gore? Less? How graphic can I get? ;)

And I know I miss-spelled 'Elvietta' so I'll go back and change that if anyone knows how to spell her name. I don't actually own copies of the books yet so…

Pretty please (I'll heart you forever if you do…)


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry this is so short but I think rather a lot happens (for one thing the rating changes ;) ) and I am running low on the plotline I have written out, thus, things will be a little slower (sorry!) unless of course you guys provide me with filler ideas for my overall plots.

I think most of you will appreciate this chappie (I've had a LOT of requests for a certain, unnamed-for-his-own-safety-from-his-rabid-fans character. He makes his debut in this chapter)

And this is a happy chapter too, which was good. I could use more smiles in my life and reviews _always_ make me happy (seriously, you do not want to see me when I get a review. It's pathetic.)

Hugs and kisses from their favorite characters to LittleF, Maelys, TwiLifeCrisis, Elskestar, SweetieCherrie, Someone, LionAndTheLambLove7, and UrbanFantasyParanormalRomance for reviewing the last chapter the first time around and the same of course to Evil Woman, LittleF, Someone, TwiLifeCrisis, Bran4Ever, and for reviewing the re-write.

Special kudos to TwiLifeCrisis who reviewed twice despite the fact she had to message me to do so 3

And LittleF and Someone also reviewed twice and they have forever gained places in my heart :)

By the way, sorry for that awkward re-write I had to do. It was entirely my fault.

You guys are all so awesome, I really appreciate getting the reviews from those of you who haven't reviewed in a while too, and I adore getting feedback.

Anyway, utter heartness, and as a reward I'm going to shut up now so you can actually read the story you came here to see ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

Samuel cradled Kai close to him, her heartbeat and steady breathing comforting. He had thought she was gone forever.

After a while she dropped off to sleep and Samuel shifted on the bed so they were laying down, her head on his chest. He stroked her hair and remained still as he heard Adam calling him.

They couldn't possibly need him more than Kai did. The Alpha was silent for several minutes until it was obvious that Samuel wasn't coming and had no intention of doing so.

He was loath to leave his mate again but Adam finally managed to convince him. She was asleep and he wouldn't be far.

"Remember the boy who called us the day after she ran away from me?"

Adam decided to take Samuel's quiet growl as a 'yes'.

"We found him in his car a little ways away."

Samuel moved toward the door but Adam stopped him.

"He was attacked Samuel. He should have died…" Adam's eyes were unreadable but they told Sam what the Alpha meant. The boy had been Turned.

"Feline?" He inquired softly.

Adam nodded.

"How is he?"

Adam shrugged. "Alright I suppose. He's not responding to me at all so I think the feline dominance system is different. Maybe Kai will be able to help when she wakes up."

"How's the other Were? Did you get him to a hospital?"

"Yeah. He's stable, though I'm curious how he got a knife in him. Kai didn't seem to want him to die."

Samuel shrugged. "I didn't see. It was-" Sam broke off painfully at the reminder that he wouldn't have been in time if the other Were hadn't been there. He owed the feline an unpayable debt.

"Can I bring Jake in to you? Maybe you'll have better luck."

Sam looked at Adam blankly. "Jake?"

"The boy."

Samuel's expression cleared. "Yes, bring him here."

Several cars pulled up outside and a familiar wave of power announced Bran's arrival.

Before long the Marrok was surveying the mess that used to be Samuel's living room.

"Sam."

"Da."

The Marrok hesitated for a moment before asking, "How is she?"

"She's… sleeping. There's nothing major but she's pretty beat up."

Bran nodded, his gaze resting on the mutilated corpse on the other side of the room. His eyes flicked to Samuel for a moment.

"She was trying to kill my mate." He growled in response.

One of Adam's wolves, Samuel couldn't think of his name off the top of his head, gingerly led in the boy and Bran's eyes narrowed.

"A freshly changed Were-cat? Samuel, I think maybe you should start from the beginning."

With a soft exhale that might have been a sigh with a little more force, Samuel thought longingly of his mate sleeping in _their_ bed before leaning back against a wall and beginning his tale.

* * *

"Well, I should let you get back to your mate. I'm very happy for you. Is she alright with it all?" Seeing Samuel's dark look the Marrok clarified, "I would think this would be a hard change to get used to overnight. I know you haven't forced her into anything she doesn't want."

"She's still wary, understandably so with all that's been going on, but she'll get used to her new life. Coyotes are adaptable."

Bran nodded. "Yes, that they are. I trust you'll bring her over to visit us when she's calmed down a little?"

"Of course. You aren't going to stay and meet her now?"

"No, I think maybe meeting the Marrok might be a little too much for her today."

Samuel nodded, grateful. "I think your right. I'll bring her to meet you in a few weeks then."

"I'm sure Charles and Anna would be willing to put you up."

Samuel thought he detected an emphasis on 'Anna' but he could have been imagining things.

"Yeah, some time with Anna might be her good." Sam agreed.

"You could both use a vacation."

"Definitely."

"Well, I'll be on my way then. I'll see you before too long." And with that the Marrok departed, leaving Samuel free to go back up to his mate.

She was still sleeping so he slipped gently under the covers with her, not bothering to remove his jeans first. That would have scared her anyway.

He should have known better earlier and not pressed the issue so much. She was still so young.

Kai murmured something under her breath too quietly for him to make out what it was and shifted closer to him. She reached out, draping her arm over his side and he pulled her into his arms.

Moving onto his back, Sam pulled Kai with him, relaxing as she settled limply on his chest.

The press of her breasts against his abs, the soft scent of her and the gentle waft of her breath across his chest combined to put him at ease, though he was still alert to any possible danger. He allowed his eyes to close.

Several minutes later she shifted a little on top of him and sighed contentedly. He traced patterns on the soft skin of her back and she settled back into sleep. Or so he thought.

His eyes opened, startled, when her hands ghosted across what she could reach of his chest that she wasn't laying on. When her fingers traced around his nipples he stopped her, his hand on her wrist. She looked up at him.

"If you start I'm going to take it as a sign you're ready." He informed her, his voice low. He tried to ignore the soft sound that escaped her as his voice rumbled through her.

Kai bit her lip, looking uncertain, and Samuel struggled with the urge to free her lip so that he could nibble on it himself. That would scare her too.

"Ca- can I just…" Kai looked away and removed her hand from his chest, setting it on the bed next to them instead. She rested her head back down, biting her lip again.

Samuel urged her to look at him again, two fingers resting gently under her chin.

After a moment's hesitation, she did.

"What would you like to ask?"

Kai shook her head and refused to meet his eyes. Samuel trailed the pads of his fingers gently over the scratches on her face.

"You can ask me anything Kai, and I'll do my best."

At first he thought she might not ask what she wanted to but she did, in a hushed whisper.

"Can I touch you? Just get used to this…?"

Samuel brought her hand up to his mouth and gently placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"You can touch me anytime you like. I will do my best not to ravish you but… I can't give you any guarantees, depending on what you're doing."

Kai nodded.

"Do I get equal privileges to you? Wherever you touch me, I'm allowed to touch on you?" He asked with a trace of a playful smile on his face. "It's only fair, after all."

Kai's cheeks colored a lovely shade of pink and she nodded again.

Samuel smirked and crossed his arms behind his head, ready for her torture to start. She bit her lip again and he wondered if he could tease her about it or not. Better not, he decided after a moment.

* * *

Kai thought hard for a moment, unconsciously biting her lip. He was so beautiful but she wished he were asleep. And that she hadn't nodded, agreeing to let him do to her whatever she did to him. Unfortunately, several sayings came to mind. _Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,_ and _all's fair in love and war_ being the foremost of those.

She sighed softly to herself and was about to sit up when it occurred to her that she wasn't wearing anything. The blanket she'd wrapped around herself must have come loose when she'd been asleep.

After a moment Samuel must have guessed her predicament because he chuckled softly and closed his eyes.

"I won't look." He assured her. A surge of some tender emotion flooded through her and she kissed his cheek in thanks.

Trusting him to keep his word, she maneuvered herself upright, straddling Sam's thigh. She blushed but then decided that there were worse things she could be over and placed her hands on his gorgeous eight pack.

She trailed her fingers upward, not missing the way Samuel had tensed when she started on his stomach, like a predator ready to pounce his prey. She didn't like feeling like prey.

She had to scoot up to reach his shoulders, neck and face, doing so by moving both knees to one side of him on the bed. She certainly wasn't brave enough yet to do anything else.

It amazed her when he tilted his head back, baring his throat to her and she realized for the first time how much he trusted her, despite the fact he knew very little about her or her past. And with that, she realized that she trusted him too. He wouldn't hurt her if he had any choice, she knew that. She didn't know how, but she knew. She loved him.

She nuzzled the underside of his chin gently and his hands settled on her shoulders, sensing the shift in her mood. She gently and timidly placed her mouth over his.

Samuel was careful to stay still as she kissed him gently, letting her lead him wherever she wanted to go.

After a few minutes she whimpered slightly, wanting more. Samuel wanted to give it to her but he decided that it was better not to misunderstand what she wanted and to make her ask. Sure enough after a moment she tentatively licked at his lower lip and Samuel couldn't quell his triumph.

His hand went to the back of her neck, not holding her there, quite, but telling her he wanted more if she would give it and he opened his mouth for her.

After a few more moments she withdrew. He wanted to open his eyes and see her eyes dark with passion, her lips slightly swollen from their kiss, but he had promised.

She nuzzled his chin again and it dawned on him that she was submitting to him. Wolves nuzzled and licked the Alpha's chin to earn back his favor and submit to him authority.

With a low rumble he effortlessly switched their positions, drawing a small sound of surprise from her.

"My turn." He growled, his lips brushing against hers. She trembled under him and he drew back, afraid he had overstepped the line.

He felt her arms draw him back and felt her soft giggle.

"You can open your eyes if you want…"

Samuel opened his eyes gratefully; glad to be able to see her expression. She was smiling at him, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked her quietly, dreading her reply. He was sure she was going to say he was going too fast, but he wasn't sure if he could stop himself.

Kai reached up and cupped his cheek with her palm. "You really do love me."

Sam stared at her for a moment, then slowly said, "You say that like it's a surprise. Kai, we chose you as our _mate_. You're Ours and no one else can ever touch you. You're Mine."

She still looked unsure but she licked her lips, her gaze dropping to his mouth. She shocked him by saying, "Prove it."

He would get no second chance to prove it to her. To prove that he would and had killed to keep her safe and by his side. His mouth met hers and he tried to be gentle but she wanted to see that she was his and his alone.

When he finally broke away she was panting and gasping for air.

"Well, I think you're right." She said, her eyes trusting. "I'm willing to be yours." And with that she tipped her head back, revealing her neck. She was already underneath him on her back, in the most venerable position there was.

Samuel brushed away a few stray strands of hair off her neck and nibbled a little, nuzzling and licking, pressing kisses here and there down to her collar bone and back up.

"Sam?"

He stopped and looked up at her face inquiringly.

"I really hate to ask this right now, but I'm dying to know. How is everyone? Jake and the Were coming to mind first…"

With a sigh Samuel rolled off her, though he pulled her against him again so they were both on their sides, breasts to chest.

"Jake," Sam started, pressing a kiss to Kai's nose, "is okay, though he's a Were-cat now. We're not sure who changed him or why. The other Were, Varian, is alive. He took the knife in a very lucky spot. Either that or he has nine lives, which I prefer not to contemplate. He'll be fine."

Kai's arms slipped up around his neck. "What about you. Are you okay?"

Samuel dipped his head down and nuzzled the tender spot where her neck met her shoulder, his chest rumbling in his contentment.

"Should I take that as a 'yes'?"

"Absolutely. You need to sleep." He told her as he pulled a bit away from her, giving her a little more space if she wanted it.

"But Sam if you want to-" he cut her short with a finger on her lips.

"Kai, make sure you think about it before you say it. I can wait until you're ready. But for now, you need sleep to heal."

* * *

The next morning Kai woke before Samuel did and gently freed herself from his hold. He stirred and looked up at her but she pressed a finger to his lips.

"Go back to sleep love," she crooned softly to him and his lips quirked up in a smile but he closed his eyes again, though he obviously had no intention of going back to sleep.

She got off the bed and went over to the pile of stuff from her shopping trip with Mercy and Jesse, shuffling through the things to find the clothes she wanted, glad now that Mercy had forced her into Victoria's Secret. She yanked off the tags, careful not to damage anything, and slipped into a pair of dark blue jeans. With one eye on Sam, she went over to his things on the other side of the room and dug out a button down shirt that still smelled nicely of him. She put that on too and went downstairs, Samuel getting up as she left the room.

Kai paused at the base of the stairs, noticing that someone had done extensive cleaning. She couldn't scent anything from the fight either and there was no blood to be seen anywhere. With a pleased smile she went to the fridge, the floor cool and pleasant against her bare feet. It was a little cold in here for her tastes but she guessed that that was what Samuel was for. He was always warm.

Samuel came downstairs as she as pulling things out of the refrigerator. She was pleased to see that he'd bought turkey bacon, proving that he'd listened to her that evening at Mercy's house.

She set the food on the counter and looped her arms around Samuel's neck once he was close enough, reaching up on her toes to kiss him. His hands found her hips and pulled her against him, his tongue darting in to taste her mouth.

When they broke apart Kai smirked up at him. "Good morning." She paused before asking, "How do you like your eggs cooked?"

Samuel shrugged. "I'm sure they'll be perfect however you make them," he rubbed his nose against hers in a butterfly kiss before adding, "Love."

They made breakfast together, Kai very much enjoying the feeling of being able to work in tandem with another person so easily. They ate on the couch, which had somehow escaped harm or been repaired without a trace.

After they were done the pair began to unwrap and put together the furniture, taking a break a little before noon. Samuel sat down on the couch and Kai followed him, lying down with her head on his lap.

"Sam, I've thought about everything that's happened over the last few days, has it really only been a few days? And I- I'm ready to be yours."

Realizing that was a little vague and that they had already come to that conclusion the previous night she clarified.

"All yours. As a mate. I love you Sam, and I know that you love me." She looked up at him, her eyes sad and tender. "I don't think anyone's ever loved me near as much as you've already proven you do. I want to be with you."

Sam maneuvered her into an upright position. He didn't demean her by again asking if she was sure, he could tell that she was and that was good enough for him.

"Just to warn you, the first time will hurt and you'll have to stay as still as possible."

Kai nodded. "I know," she said, undoing the first button of the shirt she was wearing.

Samuel pulled her across his lap and stood, holding her bridal style. "Not here," he half growled, carrying her up to the bedroom again.

* * *

Well? Give me feedback. Should I continue right where I left off or should I skip a little bit? Any little ideas for things to have happen I could borrow? (I have an overall idea but I need details ;) )

Please


	18. Chapter 18

I've been more than a little unsure of how to do this chapter. Your responses ranged from 'Please don't skip anything' to 'The rating has changed so I won't be following anymore.'

You wouldn't believe how depressing it can be to know that you just alienated one of your faithful readers and quite probably more that just didn't say anything. Remember, if you don't say anything than you have little or no control over what happens next in the story. Or in this case, what doesn't.

I don't know if my writing's gotten worse or what but the number of reviews has dropped dramatically. Have I finished off too much of the plot line? Was it too bloody a few chapters back? It is getting dull? TELL ME DARNIT!!! I can't make it better if no one says anything. I adore you guys all so very much but really. If it sucks don't be afraid to say so, I'll probably love you even more for it.

So anyway, I am truly very sorry for the terribly long delay. I've hit a gigantic case of writers block (so any ideas that get creativeness flowing again will earn you a cyber-hug…) and I've stopped and started the chapter all the way through and wrote several different versions because I couldn't stand the thought of having even less reviews. Eventually though, I decided that I couldn't leave you guys out in the cold long enough to actually finish one of the different versions so I consolidated them all and you're all probably getting really bored reading all this redundant, boring author-note stuff so I should shut up.

StillWaiting4More, you've been awesome and I hope you come back again but if not, I loved all your reviews (and everyone else's. I don't know how you guys can do it, but you make me so happy when you review…)

I look forward to hearing from you guys (it's funny, on one story I've gotten 26 hits and 6 reviews and on this one I get 163 hits and 6 reviews. Don't get me wrong, I love hits, but I absolutely adore reviews and they give me inspiration.) Sorry it's short.

Note: this chapter is rated M.

Thank you's go to SweetieCherrie, , Someone, Bran4ever, TwiLifeCrisis, UrbanFantasyParanormalRomance, and 4lira for reviewing the last chapter, as well as thank you's to anyone who read it (and those of you who didn't. I'm so sorry if I've lost any of you ever the rating change thing)

So, I don't own anything that belongs to Briggs or whoever else holds a copyright on her stuff, but I do own what is mine. That didn't make sense… Who cares?

Enjoy!

* * *

Samuel pulled her across his lap and stood, holding her bridal style. "Not here," he half growled, carrying her up to the bedroom again.

Kai trembled slightly in Samuel's arms, nerves affecting her now. He dipped his head and nuzzled her temple before brushing a soft kiss across her lips. He hated having to give her the option of backing out but it was the right thing to do.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked, pausing at the top of the stairs. She struggled lightly and he put her down reluctantly. She was going to want to stop, he could feel it.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed against him. "I'm ready. Are you?" She teased, her warm breath ghosting across his mouth.

With a growl he pulled her against him more firmly, capturing her luscious mouth with his own. Her lips parted under his attack and a pleased hum escaped her. The wolf wanted to press her against the wall and have her _now_ but the man in him knew that wasn't what her first time should be like.

His fingers tangled in her hair, tipping her head farther back and he scraped his teeth across her lower lip and she whimpered, trying to step back. He wouldn't, couldn't, let her go now. She'd had her chance to stop.

After it became clear that he had absolutely no intention of letting go of her she turned her head away. He licked and nibbled at her ear instead, reveling in finally having her in his arms where she belonged. But she was still dressed which was wrong. With the hand not in her hair he slid his hand down the front of the shirt she was wearing, undoing the buttons efficiently.

"Sam-" she started but he growled at her, tilting her head back even farther so he could lap at the pulse points under her jaw. A soft moan escaped Kai and her hands fisted, clutching handfuls of his shirt.

"Are we going to do it out here or should we go to bed?"

Sam blinked and felt a wave of guilt for having growled at her a moment ago.

He pulled the shirt off of her and swept her up into his arms again, taking her into their bedroom.

She squeaked and closed her eyes as he dropped her onto the bed, though she opened them again to watch Sam strip off his shirt, revealing his gorgeous chest and abs.

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips as her eyes met his. "Mine." She stated possessively. He was on her in a moment, claiming her mouth fiercely. Kai shifted so that she could hook her legs around his lower back, her fingers raking through his hair.

After a few minutes he pulled back a little then dipped down to her neck, kissing and suckling his way down between her breasts. She ached her back, the scent of both their arousals heavy in the air.

He reached behind her and unclasped her bra, drawing it off her with his teeth.

Kai was panting now and her hands trembled as she reached for the button on his jeans. He pushed her back.

"Kai, you have to stay as still as you can this first time. We're going to be as gentle as we can but it will be much harder if… There will be plenty of time later to play, we have to claim you as our mate first."

Kai nodded hesitantly, biting her lip, not missing his unconscious use of the plural, referring to both him and his wolf. She knew neither would hurt her but she didn't know much about Sam's other side.

Samuel slipped his thumb into her mouth, freeing her lip from her teeth and gazing down at her, his expression difficult to read. After a moment he withdrew his hand and kissed her slowly, tenderly.

When he pulled away Kai clung to him, almost wanting to cry from all the emotion that had been conveyed in that one kiss. His love for her never creased to amaze and captivate her. His long fingers trailed downward across the smooth, vulnerable skin of her stomach and her breath hitched. He undid her jeans and slipped them down her legs, his eyes never leaving hers.

He tossed them and her panties aside, off the bed, and Kai closed her eyes. The bed shifted and Samuel moved back up to nuzzle her cheek.

"It'll be alright. We can cuddle after and then we'll be free to have as much fun as we want. As a fully mated pair." When Kai didn't respond his tone changed a little, sounding slightly more desperate now. "Or… we can wait. We don't have to do this right now if-"

Kai opened her eyes and touched a finger to his lips.

"No. I'm fine; we'll do it now. I love you Samuel." She had never heard him sound so forlorn and desperate, she didn't ever want to do that to him again. Had he thought she didn't want him?

Kai was relieved to see his expression clear and she pulled him down to her for another kiss.

When they broke apart Kai's leg rubbed along his.

"Why are you still dressed?" she asked, with mock innocence.

She did, however, look away as he removed his last articles of clothing and came back to her. His lips met hers tenderly.

* * *

Kai cuddled against Samuel's strong chest and closed her eyes, relaxing. Sam's arms wrapped around her and his breath waffled her hair.

They lay like that for a while, the silence comfortable, then it occurred to Samuel that she was rarely this quiet for this long.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, afraid he had hurt her.

Kai shifted sleepily. "Mmm, I'm fine Sammy. You're incredible."

Samuel's mouth quirked. "Sammy?" He inquired.

The Walker nodded. "Mine. And naturally as such I can call you Sammy. Unless you don't like it…"

He chuckled softly. "I'm not sure anyone's ever called me that before."

Kai growled softly. "Good. You're mine. Don't laugh!" She said as she looked up at his face to find him smiling.

"I wasn't," he replied as he kissed her tenderly.

Kai moved her arms up around Sam's neck and took a deep breath through her nose. He smelled so… right. It was still amazing to think that he could ever belong to the likes of her.

After cuddling awhile longer, Sam reluctantly got out of bed.

"Come on, we should probably eat," he said, eyeing Kai's sheet-clad body with longing.

A smile tugged at Kai's mouth and her heart warmed at the fact that he looked at her like that. She made a small, slightly disappointed sound when he tugged on a pair of jeans but she got up as well, keeping her back to Sam. She still wasn't sure enough of herself to be comfortable without clothing around anyone, even her mate, though she supposed that it would come with time. At least around Sam.

After pulling on clothes, the two went downstairs.

They ate and then quietly went about unpacking things and putting them together.

Later that afternoon Kai was sprawled on the couch, watching Samuel attempt to connect the TV.

"So… Jake was Turned? Where is he now?" she asked, though somewhat distracted by the view of her mate.

Samuel sat back on his heals and turned to face her. "Yes and the Marrok took him to Montana for a while until he learns some control. It's not easy getting Turned, especially if there's no one there to help you."

Kai frowned. "But what about Varius? He's a Were-cat, surely he'll help…"

Samuel nodded. "He'll be sent to Aspen Creek once he's out of the hospital, which he should be by now. Kai, what happened? We haven't talked about any of it. Why did you close me out?"

He sounded hurt and Kai winced slightly. "They would have hurt you Sam. I couldn't bear it."

Samuel's expression softened and he moved over to the couch, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm a Were, I can probably fend off a couple cats." He told her gently.

"But they were Were's too, and I didn't like the three against one odds." She retorted stubbornly.

"I had Adam and his pack."

Kai frowned, feeling stupid now. Tears prickled at the backs of her eyes and she twisted around to clutch at Samuel, burying her face in his shoulder. "I couldn't take that risk. I love you."

Strong arms wrapped around her comfortingly. "I love you too," he murmured. After a moment, he asked, "Remind me why they wanted you so badly?"

Kai relaxed slowly in Samuel's embrace. "I was their prey and I escaped. They wanted to see me dead, that's it. I think…" She paused, and then suddenly asked, "Can Mercy see ghosts?"

"Yeah, she can. It's a Walker thing, why?"

Kai didn't answer, instead she hesitantly asked, "What do you know about vampires? Are they terribly difficult to kill?"

Samuel was silent for a long moment. "Kai, I think you should tell me why you want to know."

Kai hesitated, torn between telling him or not. If she told him what would he do? Laugh at her? Be able to help her? But if she didn't tell him… The ghost hadn't said specifically _not_ to tell anyone, though she rather suspected that might have been implied. Oh well.

"I have to kill a vampire. Someone helped me escape and I promised I'd kill a certain vampire for them in exchange for their help."

"What vampire?" Samuel asked guardedly.

"She didn't say…"

Samuel sighed. "You should never agree to anything unless you know what you're agreeing to. For all you know you could have promised to kill Marsilla, the Mistress of the Seethe."

Kai shivered and Samuel soothed her tenderly, though he was feeling uneasy himself.

After a little while Kai looked up at Sam.

"Who's the Marrok?"

Samuel laughed. "The Marrok is the king of the north American Werewolves, the Alpha of Alphas, and my father."

Kai's eyes narrowed. "So… you're a prince? How come you never mentioned that your dad was the king of North America?"

Samuel grinned and kissed her soundly. "I don't recall you asking," he murmured against her lips.

After he pulled away Kai sighed. "So, is there anything else vital that I should ask? Or anything that I should know about you?"

Sam shook his head. "Not that I can think of right now, but I'll let you know. I told Da that we'd go visit him after a while."

Kai nodded. "Right. What about your mom?"

Samuel took a deep breath. "My mother died a long time ago."

Regret filled Kai's gray eyes. "I'm so sorry. Do you have any other family besides your Da?"

Samuel nodded. "I have a half-brother, Charles. He mated recently so I also have a sister-in-law, Anna. She's nice, you'll like her. And then there's Leah."

Kai cocked her head to the side. "Leah? You don't like her but who is she…?"

"She's my father's mate."

"Ah. Is she really that bad?"

Samuel nodded. "Yeah, she is. And then there's the rest of Da's pack. Their alright, but I wouldn't consider most of them family. How about you?"

Kai shrugged and cuddled closer to Sam. "My mother abandoned me, I never knew my father, I was more or less raised by Were-cats that really didn't like me but didn't want to have me running around exposing Weres to the public," Kai paused for breath, "but then I suppose there was that one guy. Yeah, he was amazing." She sighed and assumed a wistful expression. Samuel growled faintly.

"Whenever he held my hand I could feel my heart melting, I could loose myself in his eyes. You wouldn't believe what his kisses could do to me. It always felt so right to be near him, I think I might have been in lov-"

Samuel cut her off, kissing her fiercely. "You're _mine_," he growled.

Kai smiled. "Let me finish, you oaf." She retorted with a quick kiss.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure I loved him. He was tall and strong, and he was more than willing to hold me all night long. You know what I think liked the most?" Kai didn't wait for an answer, instead quickly continuing, watching Samuel's stormy face carefully. "He ordered pizza for dinner. His eyes, ah, a girl could stare into them for hours on end, they were always either gray-blue or white-blue, depending on his mood…"

Samuel's face softened as he finally got who she was talking about. He kissed her again, though this time it was a soft kiss. Filled with love.

After he broke away he cleared his throat. "So, pizza for dinner?" His voice was low and hoarse.

Kai grinned and kissed him again.

* * *

So, how was it? Feedback gives me ideas, makes me happy, and causes me to write faster!

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	19. Chapter 19: authors note

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for putting up a non-story chapter like this but I'm toying with the idea of finishing this story here. You guys will have to tell me what you think of that idea and if you'll kill me or not. I would of course do a sequel to it at some point after I come up with a few more details for the plot.**

**Tell me what you think, reviews will influence my decision. I could probably do a few more chapters of this chapter but there wouldn't necessarily be too much plot stuff going on.**

**My muse is running on low but I will do my best to come up with something more for y'all, depending on what you guys decide. It's so weird to think of ending this, it's been a huge part of my life since… well, okay, so only since late summer of last year but… still.**

**So I don't know, I'm torn and could go either way. Tell me what you guys want and I'll do my best, otherwise there will probably have to be a hiatus at least…**

**With love, your obedient servant,**

**HurogWalker**

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	20. Chapter 20

I've decided that it's too much trouble to have to start a whole new story. I really do love you guys, I'm so sorry for abandoning you all for _so long!!!_ I felt terrible not updating but I didn't have any muse for the longest time. I'm going to try to compensate you all by giving you an extra long chapter, just to prove my love to y'all... did that sound creepy? sorry...

Aw, but you seriously have no idea how _happy_ it made me to be writing with Sam and Kai again, I left it for WAY too long… And of course the thought of getting reviews again from my absolute best fans ever is making me ecstatic, I can't wait! Ha, I sound like an addict but I suppose in a way, I am…

Even though I haven't updated in _FOR-EV-ER_ I've still been getting phenomenal amounts of hits (considering I haven't updated…) Thank you so much for reading, everyone!

And of course my wonderful reviewers deserve their part of the AN, I wouldn't make it far without you guys.

I'm going to once again thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter I posted, EchoingSilence, SweetieCherrie, ForestReject, TwiLifeCrisis, , Clauran, LionAndTheLambLove7, UrbanFantasyPeranormalRomance, Someone, and Cylobaby. Hell, even just typing you guy's names makes me all happy. I think I might need help…

And Animal Charmer, SweetieCherrie, , LittleF, TwiLifeCrisis, Elskestar, MarineBrat29, Maelys, and SpiritWolfAlana for commenting on my poor, pathetic little authors note. All of you helped me a lot in making my decision but especially the people at the very end of the list encouraged me to write more of this again. You wouldn't believe how well guilt-trips like getting reviews even when you haven't updated for months work. And if you throw in a little "Your biggest fan" comment too, well, there's no resisting.

All you readers and reviewers are such big parts of my life, you're the bestest.

So, I'm going to stop being boring soon now…

I don't own anything belonging to Patricia Briggs, Avril Lavigne, or Stephanie Meyer (please Twilight fans, I'm begging, don't kill me!!!)

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

The next three weeks passed in a bit of a blur for Kai. It was a lot for her to get used to, but she loved every moment she had with Samuel and it slowly sank in that he wasn't going to go anywhere for a long time. He was in her life to stay. Their mate bond settled in and she grew more accustomed to picking up on his feelings and some stray thoughts. Her coyote grew bolder and interjected interesting opinions more readily. Or perhaps she wasn't bolder. Before her connection with Samuel, she had never really paid attention to what was her instincts and what was her rational mind, but now she did.

She also learned very quickly that he could scent her emotions faster than she realized she even had them. If she began to grow uncomfortable, he knew it before she did.

It was hard to get used to another person knowing more about you than you yourself did, but somehow she did get used to it.

The age gap didn't bother her in the slightest since she knew that he was actually at least ninety. She still hadn't managed to get an actual age out of him and whenever she guessed he would just chuckle, kiss her, and say that it was close enough.

She loved the way he could make her laugh with a look and the way he would growl and get all protective whenever she felt frightened. He was perfect. And of course it helped that he wasn't at all hard on the eyes, and that he made his love apparent often with little tender touches.

There had been one day, after they had gotten more settled in and he had gone back to work when she'd been bored and decided to curl up and watch a movie. She'd gone to the cabinet with the DVDs and there had been a box of chocolates with a note on them from Samuel. Somehow he'd known she'd want to watch a movie at some point when he was at work.

She often found a flower or two in a vase somewhere she'd see it. Somehow he knew that a whole arrangement would have made her uncomfortable, but a few flowers were fine.

In bed he was willing to let her determine what they did.

Kai was positive that he was the sweetest, most thoughtful person she had ever met. And the best part was, he was _hers_.

Apprehension slowly grew as their trip to Montana to meet Sam's family loomed nearer. Sam did his best to reassure her but she was still nervous. She knew from watching movies that rarely did meeting your man's family go smoothly and she'd never had a man before to test the theory with.

Her schooling had been a matter of some contention, as Kai didn't want to be away from him and then have to do loads of homework when he was home from work and they did have time together. She did agree that school was important and she definitely wanted to be able to do something with her life other than sit around and wait for Sam to get home. That is, when she was actually old enough to get a real job. There weren't too many good opportunities for sixteen year olds in the work force.

Now, she was lying on top of their bed, alternating between reading New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, listening to the music on her iPod that was quietly playing through the speakers that Samuel had put in for her, and thinking about her handsome werewolf. She could never help the soft growl that rose in her throat whenever Bella would gush on about how much Edward loved her and how dashingly handsome he was. Jacob, in her opinion at least, was a much better candidate for the "handsome, lovable hero of the novel" award.

She wouldn't give up Werewolves for _anything_, much less some stinking vampire. It didn't occur to her how ironic it was that she had once been willing to leave Sam, albeit for his own protection, so that she could attempt to slay a vampire. Eventually she would still have to do that but there hadn't actually been a time limit on when she had to have destroyed whatever vampire exactly it was that she even had to kill.

A car turned onto their street and Kai identified it as Sam's car. She smiled happily and went back to her book, waiting for him to get home. In the past weeks, calling somewhere "home" had stopped seeming so strange.

The garage door opened and the car pulled inside before shutting off. Kai listened intently, focusing her hearing. She wasn't anywhere near as adept at using her nose or ears as Samuel was, but she was working on it.

The car door closed behind Sam and he came into the house, taking off his jacket and putting his keys by the door. Kai grinned as Innocence by Avril Lavigne started playing. Sam was upset, she could tell, so she would have to see if she could bring him out of it. She got up and hid behind the bedroom door, knowing that he would know full well that she was there. She didn't care.

Sam made his way up the stairs and into their room, giving her a good-natured glance as he passed her hiding spot.

Kai waited until he had fully passed her before stepping out and wrapping her arms around his waist, growling playfully. He turned and folded his arms around her tightly, burying his face in the curve of her neck.

Kai's humor faded and she rubbed his back. "Tell me about your day?" she said softly as he nuzzled at the corner of her jaw.

Sam pulled back to look at her, his eyes several shades lighter than usual. Kai tugged him with her back to the bed, sitting down on the edge. He followed suit and moved to take her into his arms again but Kai stopped him, moving behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She held him tightly and he relaxed, resting back against her.

"There was a car crash. It was a drunk driving accident. The man who was drunk came away with just a couple of scratches but- the boy in the other car- we couldn't save him."

Sadness was rolling off him in waves and she could feel his pain easily through their mate bond. Tears welled up in Kai's eyes and she tightened her arms around him.

He allowed her to for a few moments then he loosed her arms and pulled her into his lap, holding her firmly.

"What can I do Sam?" she asked softly and he looked up, meeting her eyes. His gaze was pale, the wolf ascendant. He pulled her closer and nuzzled her ear as his wolf reached out to her through their bond. Kai comforted him as well as she could, mentally as well as physically.

After he was calm, Kai towed him downstairs and made dinner for the two of them. Dinner was quiet and when they were done shot him a pleading look then glanced at the TV. Sam smiled.

"All right, what are we going to watch?" he asked with a little trepidation.

Kai grinned in a somewhat frightening manner. "Well," she began slowly, "I've always wanted to watch The Phantom of the Opera…"

Sam sighed and nodded. "Alright, if you insist."

Kai went over to the computer next to the TV and found the movie online, connecting it to the TV. Sam settled onto the couch and Kai curled up next to him, her head in his lap.

He gently ran his fingers through her hair and she turned to look up at him. "Sammy?"

He grimaced slightly, "Yes love?"

"Are- are you going to be up to seeing your family…?"

He nodded. "I'm all right Kai and my family understands. Besides," he said, a teasing air working into his voice, though his eyes were still serious, "I have you, don't I? What else could I possibly want?"

Kai smiled up at him, though a little hesitantly.

"You don't want to go to Montana." Sam said softly.

Kai sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. "What if they don't like me? What if I make a fool of myself?"

"Is that all this is about? Kai, you'll be fine. Everyone except maybe Leah will like you, but no one's really too fond of Leah so it doesn't make any difference what she thinks. You're my mate, that's all that matters."

Kai pulled back and studied his face to make sure he was serious before pressing a quick kiss to his lips. His hand moved to the back of her neck and held her there when she would have withdrawn and he deepened the kiss before letting her go.

Kai smiled giddily before turning her attention to the movie.

* * *

Early the next morning, Kai packed a bag to take to Montana and Sam did the same before glancing through Kai's bag and adding in more warm clothes. Kai crossed her arms and watched him, thoroughly amused.

Sam saw her look and shrugged. "It's cold in Montana and it _is_ fall. It's been snowing for the last few days."

Kai frowned, worried. "Are the roads clear?"

"The roads are fine baby."

Kai pouted, glancing away, and Sam sighed.

"Are you going to be grumpy the whole time?"

She didn't answer.

Sam hesitated. "Hey, if you cheer up I'll buy you a milkshake at lunch."

Kai smiled warmly. "Sounds like a deal. There's snow there?" she asked, bouncing slightly on her toes, no longer hiding her inner excitement.

Samuel chuckled at her antics. "Yes, there'll be loads of snow for you to play in."

He picked up both their bags and headed out to the car with them. Kai trailed after him, grabbing a jacket on her way out.

She got into the car and they started toward Aspen Creek.

* * *

Kai watched out the window as they drove through the wilderness. She was excited and frightened to meet Sam's brother and the Marrok, but she guessed that it was probably natural.

There was snow everywhere and the landscape was breathtaking, high mountains everywhere and a good mix of trees and open land. Samuel turned the car onto a small road and Kai looked over at him. She opened her mouth and he sighed.

"It's a little while still. You don't actually have to ask how much farther every five minutes, you could just wait until we're there."

Kai smirked and looked out the window again, muttering "Aw, but where would be the fun in that?"

She finished off the sugary dregs of Sam's milkshake, which she had gotten away from him with a pleading look. She would willingly trade the world to be with Sam and the fact that he was already hers was still mind-boggling. He was the best thing that had _ever_ happened to her.

She had the fleeting suspicion that her first meeting with his family was going to go badly, but right now she was borderline hyper and couldn't have cared less.

After what seemed like eons, they rounded a bend and the town came into view. Kai was a little disappointed. There were only four buildings; a gas station, a two-story brick building that looked like it might be a school, a church, and a motel.

Samuel stopped the car in front of the motel, which was a long, narrow building with parking spots in front of the rooms for easy access.

There were a couple people in sight and they all seemed to recognize Sam. They smiled and waved to him before continuing about their business.

"Come on," Sam said, getting out with a smile. Kai climbed out of the car, suddenly nervous again. She followed Sam into the motel office and watched with a hint of jealousy as he greeted the woman behind the counter by name. Kai frowned slightly as she realized that the woman wasn't a were. Wasn't this a werewolf town?

Samuel introduced Kai, but she didn't really hear what he said, merely nodding and smiling politely as another thought occurred to her. She had just willingly ventured into a _werewolf_ town. She had been so pre-occupied worrying about meeting Samuel's family that she hadn't really thought about that particular aspect.

A few minutes later Samuel seemed to have gotten whatever information he'd come here for and he headed out to the car, holding the door open for Kai.

"So…?" Kai asked once the motel door had swung closed.

Samuel regarded her with a mixture of concern and humor. "You didn't hear a thing that was said in there, did you?"

The way he said it made it more of a statement than a question but Kai decided that she might as well answer anyway.

"No, not really." It was cold here and she crossed her arms to retain a little more body heat.

"Da has some of the pack out on a hunt and Charles and Anna apparently joined them today so we'll head out and see if we can find Charles."

Kai nodded. "Alright, lets go."

Samuel's hands settled onto her shoulders and he looked intently into her eyes.

"Kai, you need to stay close to me. Don't get too far under any circumstances."

Kai's smile faded entirely and she searched her mate's face for a hint at why that was so important.

He sighed. "Wolves don't tend to like intruders and many aren't fond of coyotes."

"But- Mercy grew up here, right?" Kai had heard a couple stories about Mercy's stay with the werewolves. Apparently she'd once crashed the Marrok's car.

"Yes, but Mercy's Mercy."

Kai's eyes narrowed. "You think I can't take care of myself, don't you. Well I've done just fine without you my entire life."

Samuel's grip tightened. "You're my mate and it's my job to protect you, whether you think you need it or not. Stay close to me."

He didn't even bother to disguise the order and Kai fumed silently as he led the way to one of the rooms.

He left the door partly open and began undressing. Kai watched him for a few moments and he met her eyes. When he reached fir his belt though, she blushed and ducked into the small bathroom. Samuel's soft laugh followed her in and she quickly undressed, shivering in the cold and Shifted. She picked up her clothes and brought them out of the bathroom with her and she sat down, watching Samuel Change.

She had never watched him Changing before and after he was fully wolf he lay on the floor for a moment, collecting himself. Kai whimpered and crawled over to him on her belly, licking his muzzle tenderly. She was glad her shifts didn't hurt that badly.

His eyes laughed and he licked her back before getting to his feet and pawing open the door.

He bounded outside, his fur blending in perfectly with the white snow. Kai followed more hesitantly, looking around for people. There was only one and he was just going into the school building. Samuel was watching her patiently and when she joined him he led the way toward the tree line.

When they reached fresh snow Kai's energy returned and she play bowed before pouncing on some invisible animal. Her tail waved in excitement and a paw batted her hip, making her jump and twist around in mid-air. Samuel stood there, his tongue lolling out to one side before he dipped into a shallow play bow himself then racing away. He held himself in though, making sure that Kai was keeping up as he followed his half-brother's familiar scent.

Kai soon discovered that following behind Samuel and doing her best to step in his much larger paw-prints was easier than trying to plow through the snow on her own. It was still a bit of a leap because his legs were longer but it was fun, jumping through the snow. IT also kept her from passing him of veering off to one side even though she'd been warned not to. She willingly admitted that she wasn't always the smartest coyote on the block.

After a while Sam slowed and Kai was forced to do so as well or run into him. She chose to slow down.

They left the trees and went into a small clearing where they were soon joined by three other wolves. Kai was glad that the snow had a thicker crust on top here and they could stand on top of it, rather than have to wade through.

Kai stayed where she was as Samuel went to great the other three, going over to the small gray male first. She wasn't sure why he ignored the big red wolf with the darker markings on his long legs. She recognized the aura that he was exuding and Kai would have thought it was better to greet the more powerful wolves first.

The gray was much smaller than Sam and the tip of his tail was white. Kai felt her own tail begin to wag playfully and she turned her attention to the female next to the big red wolf.

She was coal black with a splash of white over the top of her nose and she was watching Kai with pale blue eyes.

Samuel sniffed noses with the red and black wolves before returning to Kai's side. Kai knew she should have been a bit more worn out after the run with Sam on the way here but she wasn't. She felt happy, excited and she could almost feel the sugar needing to be worked out of her bloodstream.

She looked up at Sam but he didn't seem to want to play and he didn't look like they were going to be moving on in the next few minutes. She trotted toward the small gray wolf and Samuel growled as the other wolf took a step forward.

The gray wolf gave Samuel a chiding look, which Sam ignored, continuing to growl as he literally stood over Kai.

She sighed, flopping down on the snow looking bored as she rested her head on her paws and glanced around at the treetops.

The red and black wolves smiled and Kai grinned back before resuming her bored expression.

The gray wolf and Sam seemed to be having a staring contest, but Kai wasn't concerned. Samuel looked to be much more dominant than the much smaller gray.

Finally Samuel stopped growling and looked away.

Kai got up lazily and stretched, looking for all the world like she had just woken up from a nap. She sat back on her haunches, lifting her front paws off the ground so she could reach Samuel's chin. She gifted him with a lick and bounded over to the gray wolf, making it clear that she didn't think that it was much of a problem that Samuel had growled at him.

She wagged her tail playfully and bounded away. She paused, looking back to see if he was chasing her.

The gray wolf watched Kai for a moment then looked at Samuel, who was watching him intently. The gray wolf looked back at Kai and slowly sat down.

Kai's tail drooped. She looked mournfully at Samuel, obviously blaming him for her loss of a perfectly good playmate.

Kai's expression changed slightly and she kept her eyes on Samuel as she crept forward, casually pretending that she wasn't moving.

Amusement lit Samuel's eyes and he shifted his weight, taking a half step toward her.

She froze comically then made a beeline for the two other wolves. She made a show of watching Samuel over her shoulder as she invited them to play with her.

Samuel sat down, giving in. The female got to her feet and accepted Kai's invitation to play.

* * *

After watching Kai and Anna play for a few minutes Samuel dropped to his belly next to Bran, silently apologizing for challenging him. The Marrok had already informed him dryly that he had no designs on his son's Walker.

Bran gripped Samuel's muzzle firmly in his teeth for a moment, making sure Samuel remembered that he wasn't the Alpha here.

He released Samuel and Charles walked over to them, giving Samuel a teasing look.

Samuel looked wryly at him before turning his attention back to Kai. Maybe letting her have so much sugar had been a bad idea…

* * *

After a while the gray wolf trotted off and Samuel and the tall red wolf walked in another direction. With a silent agreement, Kai and the black she-wolf stopped chasing each other to follow the males. Kai was exhausted and she enjoyed the easy, yet ground covering pace the wolves set and the quiet companionship that hung in the air.

Kai had decided that the red wolf must be Bran, the Marrok and she didn't see why Sam didn't like Leah, Bran's mate. So far she seemed perfectly nice.

It took a long time but finally the trees thinned and a large house came into view. It was a ranch style house, painted gray and green and was tucked up against a hill on one side. It was a beautiful house.

Kai followed the wolves onto the porch and the red wolf _Shifted_. Kai stared at him in astonishment. Didn't all werewolves Change? Yet this one could Shift like a Walker. And he was even dressed too, which was awesome. Could Mercy do that? Could _she_ do that?

The man opened the door to the house and the wolves went in, Kai trailing after them.

She looked at the tall werewolf as unobtrusively as she could as Sam and the black wolf began to Change. He had Native American features, his skin golden-brown, and his black hair long enough to reach his waist. He looked at her and she quickly looked away, though he smiled, his teeth flashing white in his face.

"There's a bathroom down the hall. I'll get you some clothes," he said, his voice soft.

Kai waved her tail in thanks, uncertain and feeling a little out of place in the beautiful house. Or maybe it was that she felt as though she was intruding into someone else's home, because if had that air about it. It wasn't just a house.

The man came back with some clothes saying, "I put some in the bathroom for you." Kai slipped cautiously past him and into the bathroom, nudging the door closed. She Shifted and pulled on the clothes. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced, brushing her fingers through her hair in an effort to untangle in. After it was decent looking she went back out to see if Sam was human yet. He wasn't and her gaze turned to the tall man leaning against the counter. He was studying her.

"I'm Charles," he said, though he didn't offer his hand for her to shake. Kai blinked at him and stupidly said the first thing that came to mind.

"You're not Bran?"

She was rewarded by a hearty laugh from Charles and she could see the resemblance to Sam in his smile.

"No, I'm not Bran," he told her.

"I'm Kai," she said, feeling a little foolish but deciding to make the best of it.

Samuel got to his feet and Kai looked at him, though she flushed and quickly looked away again. Charles watched this with a wide grin and Sam narrowed his eyes at his brother, pulling on the pair of jeans that Charles had gotten out for him.

* * *

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